Bathing Beauties : A Linear Gallery of New Coastal Architecture on the Lincolnshire coast, UK.

Bathing Beauties is a project conceived by Lead Artist Michael Trainor to create a series of dramatic and beautiful new beach huts and other seaside architecture for a beautiful and award-winning 10 mile stretch of Lincolnshire coastline, UK. The coastline features blue badge award-winning beaches, linked by footpath and suitable for pedestrians, cyclists and wheelchair users to enjoy uninterrupted views of sand, sea, sky – oh, and beachhuts! There are currently 509 existing traditional beach huts (linking the UK coastal towns of Mablethorpe, Sutton-On-Sea and Anderby Creek). Some of the huts are used and well maintained, many are in disrepair or forgotten and there are a variety of architectural styles from several different decades.

Bathing Beauties is a 3 year process (2006 - 2009) for artists, architects, designers and the local community to develop exciting, high quality and innovative bathing huts and other seaside structures which will ultimately form a ‘linear gallery’ of seaside architecture amongst the existing bathing huts and an annual Festival of Bathing Beauties – the UK’s First Annual Beach Hut Festival; the second of which takes place over Sat 20 and Sun 21 September 2008 www.bathingbeautiesfestival.org

Bathing Beauties Calendar of Events 2008

Sept 2008:   Festival of Bathing Beauties on the Lincolnshire coast, UK. Sat 20& Sun 21 Sept 2008

                  The UKs only Beach Hut Festival

                  www.bathingbeautiesfestival.org

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EVENTS ARCHIVE: The Bathing Beauties process from Sept 2005 - March 2007

Sept 2005:   Michael Trainor appointed lead artist for the Lincolnshire Coastal Art Project

Early 2006:  Public consultation with the local community

March 2006: The Big Idea: Bathing Beauties 'Re-imagining the Beach Hut for the 21st Century'

June 2006:   International competitions launch for artists and architects to design bold new beach huts

Sept 2006:   Closing date for first competitions - over 240 scale model entries received from 15 countries!

                  Judging of international competitions to commission winning designs for full-scale build in 2007

                  Click here for pictures at judgement day!

Oct 2006:    The start of the commissioning process with the winning artists, architects and designers

                  The start of seeking funding to realise the winning design for competition 2 (Beachfront

                  Restaurant / Boathouse for Chapel St. Leonards)

Nov 2006:    The ambition to exhibit selected scale model entries nationally and internationally starts

Jan 2007:    The first of the bold new beach hut winnning designs start to get built off-site

March 2007: Launch of 'Beautiful Beach Hut' Competitions, part of the Festival of Bathing Beauties

                  Competitions for private owners of beach huts between Mablethorpe and Anderby Creek ,  

                  Lincolnshire, UK. Judging on Sat 22 Sept 2007 as part of the public festival.

                  Click here for competition details

June 2007:  Bathing Beauties : A World Premiere at The Hub: National Centre for Craft & Design, UK.

                  'Re-imagining the Beach Hut for the 21st Century'.

                  An international exhibition of over one hundred models designed by artists and architects

                  which re-imagine the British beach hut for the first time in three hundred years.  The

                  exhibition launches especially for Architecture Week, UK and runs from 15 June - 2 Sept

                  at The Hub: National Centre for Craft & Design, Navigation Wharf, Carre Street, Sleaford,

                  Lincolshire, NG34 7TW, UK.  Open 10am - 5pm daily.  Admission is Free. T: +44 (0)1529 308710

                  www.thehubcentre.org              

Summer 07: Bathing Beauties 'Re-imagining the Beach Hut for the 21st Century'

                  The first ‘Brave New Beach Hut’, entitled 'Come Up And See Me' by lead artist

                  Michael Trainor, construction will commence in artists workshop in Manchester, UK.  This

                  two-storey hut, based upon a gin and tonic will be permanently installed from 22 Sept 2007  

                  on the Mablethorpe Promenade, Lincolnshire, UK. 

                  Winners of the competitions for bold new huts by international architects,

                  artists and designers will begin the construction of their full-scale huts, in workshops all over 

                  the UK, for tranportation to their permanent sites loated along the Lincolnshire coast from

                  Mablethorpe to Anderby Creek in time for public launch on 22 Sept 2007. 

                  Click here for winning designs images

Sept 2007:   Festival of Bathing Beauties on the Lincolnshire coast, UK. Sat 22 & Sun 23 Sept 2007

                  The UKs only Beach Hut Festival

                  The official launch of the bold new beach huts 'Re-imagining the Beach Hut for the 21st    

                  Century'.

                  Beautiful Beach Hut Competition with entries from private owners of existing huts on this

                  coastline for exterior, interior and best dressed for the festival judging and prize-giving.

                  Other 'open hut' events including temporary installations, live music interventions.

                  The Festival of Bathing Beauties aims to become an annual event, each September.

                  www.bathingbeautiesfestival.org