Public invited to help shape travel hub sculpture

Black Country artist Tom Hicks and Liz Berry, poet, will take part in the public sessions

A piece of public art is to be created at a new travel hub in a collaboration between an artist and the local community.

People living in Halesowen, Dudley, are invited to take part in a series of free guided photo-walks led by Black Country artist Tom Hicks.

During the walks, participants can hear about his ideas to document the urban landscape and feed into the design of the new sculpture.

The art will form part of a new green public space on Cross Street in the town, a site set to provide options for local travel including bike hire and car clubs. Organisers say the aim of the piece is to celebrate the local environment, its cultural history and identity.

Artist Tom Hicks aims to highlight hidden beauty in the post-industrial landscape of the Black Country

The artist creates images celebrating the "sometimes hidden beauty" of his local post-industrial landscape.

The self-taught photographer uses a smartphone to take the images across Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton, which he shares with his thousands of Instagram followers on his Black Country Type account.

For some sessions he will be joined by poet Liz Berry, who will lead a workshop inspiring new writing about the region.

The sculpture will form part of the new Cross Street travel hub planned for Halesowen

Hicks has been commissioned by Birmingham's Ikon Gallery in partnership with Transport for West Midlands.

The workshop dates start on Friday 8 March and run until Saturday 20 April.