As part of Essex County Council’s commitment to Percent for Art within their building programme, artist Julia Manheim was employed as a consultant at the design stages of Braintree Library. In collaboration with the rest of the design team, her role was to identify opportunities for artwork and resulted in four commissions. The building was completed in 1997.

The abundance of light and the airy feeling of the library is echoed in all of the commissions. The metal relief by Amanda Bright, 'Shadow', is placed high up in an internal wall and oscillates gently with air currents. The reference to the local silk industry is also picked up in Diane Radford and Lindsey Ball’s etched glass. Robert Cooper’s ceramic frieze, 'Flying Books', appears to take flight across the children’s library. Julia Manheim’s cast iron tablets set into the pavement outside the library use images taken from local history.

Incorporating visual art into the development at the earliest opportunity resulted in fully integrated works that respond to and positively enhance the building.

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