Best of Us – Art Installation

County Mall, Crawley

20 March – 15 April 2024

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  • A woman in a blue scarf is standing in front of a statue in a mall.

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  • A silhouette of a person standing in front of a sign that says car factory.

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  • A statue of two people standing next to each other in a shopping mall.

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  • A woman is standing in front of a statue of a man and a statue of a woman.

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  • A woman is standing next to a statue of a man in a mall.

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  • A group of people are standing around a statue in a mall.

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  • A man and a woman are working on a silhouette of a person on a wall.

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  • Two men are working on a large piece of wood.

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The ‘Best of Us’ project was inspired by the children and young people of Crawley and was created out of an identified need for them to reflect, celebrate and share their hopes and dreams for the future.


Contemporary West Sussex Sculptor, Helen Solly created the striking centrepiece which consists of 2mm powder-coated, sheet metal sitting on a base of oak railway sleepers. The soundscape, by artist Charlie Essex, which features students from Broadfield Primary and Manor Green College, generates a high energy that matches the enthusiasm the children shared about their futures.


The self-portrait masks created by year 5 students at Broadfield Primary School reflect their personalities and sense of community which accompany the haiku poems by students at Manor Green College who considered what is important to them whilst also having a sense of humour and perspective. The film produced by creative media students at Crawley College reflects their own sense of what community means to them and their hopes and dreams for the future.



This collaborative project bought together a community of just over 120 students who worked on different elements of this project for a 3 month period. We would like to thank teachers at Broadfield Primary Academy, Manor Green College and Crawley College for their support and input and also Liz Hart at Crawley Borough Council, Simon Cuckow for County Mall, Crawley and Emma Maddon on behalf of Velocity Worldwide for helping make this project happen.

Listen to what the the students had to say

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