Redditch ‘Paolozzi Mosaics’ get grade two listing
A series of murals in a West Midlands shopping centre have been listed by Historic England, making it only the second purpose-built shopping centre in the country to gain protected status.
The public conservation body has awarded grade two protected status to Millward Square at the Kingfisher Shopping Centre in Redditch, the upper floor of which features a dozen works by pop-art pioneer Eduardo Paolozzi depicting the town’s industrial heritage.
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Paolozzi responded to a call from Redditch Development Corporation in 1981, who wanted to depict a “feature/artwork relating to the most significant industry base within Redditch, namely needles”, with funding for the commission made available by the Redditch Development Corporation, the Needles Industry Group and the Arts Council of Great Britain.
Originally called Walford Square, the name of the atrium was changed to Milward Square in recognition of the Milward family who were closely associated with Redditch’s needle making industry.
According to the official list entry, added last week, Paolozzi conferred with experts on Redditch’s needle industry and consulted sources at the V&A and British Museum for the murals, evolving a concept from the museum’s upper Egyptian galleries for the perspective and interpretation of detail.
The list entry notes the “exceptional quality, craftsmanship and survival of the mosaic mural by Eduardo Paolozzi, which combines iconography reflecting the region’s industrial heritage, contemporary media, pop culture and technology with recognisable motifs from Paolozzi’s oeuvre.”
The murals were completed and unveiled in 1983.
The Kingfisher atrium joins the only other modern shopping centre on the official UK listings, Milton Keynes’ central shopping building, which was awarded protected status in 2010.
