Brightly coloured deckchairs unveiled on Weymouth beach

The brightly coloured chairs were unveiled on Weymouth Beach.

They are now available for hire and replace the stripy deckchairs along the promenade.

Residents took part in workshops at Weymouth College last year to design an image that represents the borough.

The designs vary from images of architecture in the resort, the Jubilee Clock, the Red Arrows, beach donkeys and sea creatures.

Also putting in an appearance are interpretations of Mr Punch and beachgoers on Weymouth’s golden sands.

Alan Rogers, borough 2012 team cultural coordinator, said: “These 500 deckchairs have been designed for our community by the community with the help of some artists.”

The project is part of the 2012 Public Art Commissioning Plan and was developed especially for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic sailing events.

Workshops activities included drawing, painting, collage with paper and fabric and hand stitching.

Heather Parnell, a Cardiff-based artist who assisted with the project, said: “It’s fantastic to see the deckchairs.

“They are really bright and celebratory and full of joy.

“We had such a massive response to doing the deckchairs and we’ve had a large group of people participating.

“The people who designed them have been to see their creations and we’ve had really positive feedback from it.

“They were so pleased to see their images on the beach.”

The deckchair designs were professionally digitally printed onto cotton fabric and sewn double-sided with the background colour continuing onto the back of the deckchair so the colour can be appreciated from the Esplanade.

Becky Adams, another Cardiff-based artist, said she was very impressed with the deckchairs.

“I think the architecture designs are really specific. It struck me when I visited that the buildings are all long and thin.

“I hope that it’s a real legacy for the town. There’s a lot of buzz on Facebook and Twitter about them.”

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