About - Beam Arts UK

Beam leads brave, inclusive public art. For over four decades we have shaped thriving places through high-quality public art, working with artists, communities and clients who believe that how a place feels matters.

Through place-specific public artworks, socially engaged projects, and strategic programmes and policy, we shape meaningful, cultural experiences that reflect and enrich places.

Beam is the trading name of Public Arts, an arts charity and company limited by guarantee, incorporated in 1986 and registered as a charity in 1987. Based in Wakefield and with forty years experience of delivering arts in place across the north and midlands, our work supports positive community wellbeing and economic benefit.

We lead brave, inclusive public art which embraces the challenges that our places, communities and artists face today and prepares them for a bright future. ‘Brave’ signals a thoughtful willingness to support ambitious ideas, new forms of collaboration and projects that may challenge established ways of thinking.

Our Definition of Public Art

Public art can take many forms and is made for everyone to enjoy in shared public spaces.

It may be permanent or temporary, large or small scale, it can include sculptures, murals, lighting, digital works, sound, performance, street furniture, landscape features and more.

For Beam, public art is always inclusive and is found in places people use every day, such as streets, parks, libraries, schools, and community centres. It connects with people, inviting curiosity, conversation, and interaction and reflects the character and stories of a place, responding to local history, culture, diversity, community identity and future ambitions.

Artists work closely with communities and other collaborators to create artworks that feel meaningful and relevant, whether they are temporary installations or long-lasting features woven into public spaces.

Our Values

Our work is underpinned by the following core values:

Rooted: Our work is grounded in its context, responsive to the place, ensuring relevance to its communities, its environment, its past and its future.
Inclusive: Committed to taking positive action to address lack of equity within the public art sector, providing equal opportunities for all, and fostering a culture that encourages and values diversity.
High Quality: Collaborating with artists, clients, participants and audiences to develop creative approaches, ensuring the process and experiences are as high quality as the outcomes and of equal importance.
Nurture: Nurture and champion artists and communities, providing opportunities to develop skills, activating pathways to working in the public realm for all.
Respect: Cultivate relationships based on trust, respect, care and transparency.
Sustainable: Deliver sustainability through our organisation and work, addressing the climate emergency through reducing the impact of our work on the environment, and promoting environmental responsibility.

We are proud group members of the Academy of Urbanism, Wakefield Civic Society, and sit on the Wakefield District Public Art Framework Steering Group.