The Fitzwilliam Museum

CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND - A PROMENADE of giant sculptures has returned to a Cambridge museum after they boosted visitor numbers by 32 per cent.

The celebrated Sculpture Promenade is back in the grounds of the Fitzwilliam for a second year - and the gigantic exhibition is drawing crowds of children.

A free annual installation of contemporary sculpture ranges from monumental works in bronze and steel to wind-driven, mobile forms.

The 2010 Sculpture Promenade, which opens today, features recent sculptures by Angela Conner, Ann Christopher, Mike Lyons, Nick Turvey, Nick Hornby and Rob Ward.

In contrast to last year's event, the 2010 Promenade presents up to three sculptures by each artist totalling 14 and making it the largest installation yet seen on the lawns of the Fitzwilliam.

Museum director Dr Timothy Potts said: "We were delighted with the great success of the inaugural Sculpture Promenade last year, which brought contemporary art out on to the street and so many new visitors into the museum.

"The installation this year, which groups works by a single artist on each lawn and one under the portico, gives a broader view of each artist than before.

"They range from some of the most exciting young artists to major established figures, giving a snapshot of some of the most interesting work being created today."

A survey carried out by the Judge Business School also found a 71 per cent increase in the number of children coming to the museum.

Cambridge-based sculptor Helaine Blumenfeld, who helped organise the exhibition, said: "It was tremendously rewarding to see how, within only a few months of its inauguration, the initial Promenade had significantly altered people's perceptions of the Fitzwilliam Museum.

"The front lawns were trans-formed into a meeting place, an active and dynamic visitors' space: children were playing among the sculptures and people of all ages and backgrounds were touching, photographing, discussing the work.

"This year, encouraged by the success of our first effort and by the public's clear appreciation of beauty, quality, craft and innovation, we have been more ambitious in the number and scale of the pieces we have chosen."

The exhibition runs until January next year.

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