The Bathing Beauties™ project was conceived by Michael Trainor, lead artist on the Lincolnshire coast, UK.  His big idea is to create a series of dramatic and beautiful new seaside architecture for a superb but partly forgotten 10 mile stretch of Lincolnshire coastline, UK, from Mablethorpe to Anderby Creek.

The aim of Bathing Beauties™ is to create a linear gallery of bold new beach huts and other seaside structures with innovative architecture as the linking theme.

A series of national and international design competitions launched in July 2006 invited professional artists and architects to submit ideas to transform seaside architecture for the 21st Century – even that most iconic symbol of British seaside architecture – the humble beach hut.   Over 240 scale model entries were received from 15 countries and over 100 selected Bathing Beauties™ 1:15 scale models attracted record audiences at a public exhibition at The Hub: National Centre for Craft & Design, Sleaford, Lincolnshire from 15 June - 2 Sept 2007.  This exhibition is now closed and available for hire to tour in the UK or internationally in 2008 and beyond, pending funding.  Four winning entries have been commissioned for permanent full-scale build for installation for public viewing and daily hire from 22 Sept 2007.  In addtion, Michael Trainor will be installing his own Bathing Beauty beach hut and a further four commissions will be installed in 2008.  All will be available for daily hire from the local authority from Summer 2008.

The success of the Bathing Beauties™ idea has evolved into a series of strands which include:

Bathing Beauties™: Re-imagining the Beach Hut for the 21st Century permanent installations.

Festival of Bathing Beauties™ on the Lincolnshire coast, UK, aiming to become an annual event.

Bathing Beauties™ On Show - Exhibition of over 100 scale models entered into original international competitions.

Competitions for private owners of beach huts on this coastal stretch are now open with a series of prizes to encourage people to take pride in their coastal 'micro-architecture' and maybe experiment a little with the exterior and interior designs for their existing huts.  Awards to be made at the first Festival of Bathing Beauties™ – the UK’s only Beach Hut Festival, to take place on Sat 22 & Sun 23 Sept 2007 from Mablethorpe to Anderby Creek, Lincolnshire, UK.

Why Beach Huts?

‘The beach hut is one of the few building forms which has been seriously overlooked by contemporary architects the world over. They are perceived as a treasured feature of our coastal landscape, as quintessentially British as fish and chips and the knotted hanky, but in reality are usually little more than a painted shed. The opportunity to re-imagine the beach hut is a very exciting prospect for artists, architects, designers, beach hut owners and holidaymakers alike.’ says Michael Trainor, Lead Artist behind the project.

• These micro-buildings occupy an envious position of great natural beauty in the landscape where other building interventions are rarely permitted.
• There is little in the way of function required from beach huts – essentially a tap, kettle and storage for four deck chairs but most importantly…
• Everyone loves a beach hut! By definition they only exist for leisure purposes – eating, reading, pottering, snoozing, changing into and out of bathing costumes.

Michael Trainor, lead artist and project curator of Bathing Beauties™ is a professional artist based in Manchester, UK.  He has been involved in over 60 temporary and permanent works of art in public places including 'They Shoot Horses, Don't They?', the world's shinest artwork and largest mirrorball on the seafront in Blackpool, UK.  His beach hut design 'Come Up And See Me' will be installed on the Lincolnshire coast from 22 September 2007.   Michaels current projects also include the Garston People's Palace, a major new temporary artwork for Liverpool Capital of Culture and Liverpool Biennial, UK in Summer 2008.