Cumbernauld’s First Lady gets Royal Seal of Approval

  Princess Anne visits 10m-high sculpture designed to boost image of Scottish New Town Cumbernauld

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And pictured with Cllr Gerry McElroy, chair of Campsies Centre Cumbernauld Limited (CCCL), walking away from the sculpture.

Pictured with Princess Anne: Sculptor Andy Scott talks with the Princess Royal beside  ‘Arria’.

Princess Anne visited Cumbernauld (Wednesday 26 January) today to visit Arria, the 10-metre-high public art sculpture which aims to transform the image of the Scottish New Town.

 A piper from the North Lanarkshire Schools Pipe Band greeted the Princess Royal as she visited the sculpture and met international artist, Andy Scott. A plaque was unveiled to mark the occasion.

 In addition, award-winning Scottish poet Jim Carruth gave a reading of his four-verse poem Watershed, which was inspired by the figure and is inscribed on the base of sculpture.

 Music and entertainment was provided through a guitar recital by pupils from Greenfaulds High School and a performance by 26 members of Ravenswood Primary School choir.

 Peter Reid and his two daughters Louise Reid (age 14) and Bethany Reid (age 11) from Cumbernauld also got to meet the Princess Royal after winning a competition which asked locals to suggest a name for its new resident last August.

 Overlooking the A80 by the New Town of Cumbernauld – and now lit up during the hours of darkness – Arria was erected in August 2010 and is seen by 70,000 people daily.

 The name Arria is based on Arria Fadilla who was the mother of Emperor Antoninus. Cumbernauld lies two miles from the line of an ancient Roman monument, the Antonine Wall and the town’s new £40m shopping centre is called the Antonine Centre.

 The name also alludes to the word aria, which means song. The sculpture looks as if she is raising her arms in song. 

Part of the Cumbernauld Positive Image Project, the sculpture is the brainchild of Campsies Centre Cumbernauld Ltd (CCCL) – a North Lanarkshire Council company set up to facilitate the redevelopment of the town.

 Cllr Gerry McElroy, chair of CCCL: “It is fantastic that the Princess Royal is taking time out to visit this iconic piece of public art. One of the main aims of the Cumbernauld Positive Image Project has been to raise awareness of Cumbernauld across Scotland and provide a positive statement for the town.

 Arria has put Cumbernauld on the map...for the right reasons.”

 Since its installation, the statue – which stands taller than two double decker buses – has received worldwide media attention and built an international fan base through its Facebook page www.facebook.com/cumbernauldSculpture

 Andy Scott, the international artist who designed and built Arria, as well as the Heavy Horse on the M8, said: “I am delighted that the Princess has taken the time to come and visit Arria. A sculpture of this scale is impossible to formally unveil in the traditional sense, so in a way her visit is a sort of inauguration, a launch of the artwork and an acknowledgement of our endeavours.  

 “The visit further celebrates Arria's presence on the landscape of the Cumbernauld area and a recognition that Arria is now part of the cultural landscape of the country.”

 The Cumbernauld sculpture is of a female form and incorporates two large swooping arcs, inspired by the original name for Cumbernauld, “comar nan allt”, which means “coming together of waters” in Gaelic.

 Arria reaches out towards Cumbernauld town centre. Artist Andy Scott was inspired by the idea of drawing on the past and looking towards the future in a figurative motif. In details such as her hair, the artwork draws inspiration from the 1960s when Cumbernauld was seen by many as an urban utopia.

 The aims of the Cumbernauld Positive Image Project are four-fold: create a distinctive image of Cumbernauld; increase residents' pride in their town; raise awareness across Scotland of Cumbernauld's attractiveness as a destination to live, work and play; create a sense of place and provide a positive statement about the town.

 The town of Cumbernauld has recently undergone an economic transformation, gaining a reputation for innovation, business growth and successful external investment. Cumbernauld’s population now exceeds that of two of Scotland’s six cities, Stirling and Inverness. It even has its own airport.

Issued on behalf of the Campsies Centre Cumbernauld Ltd (CCCL) by Weber Shandwick.Notes for Editors

About CCCL

Campsies Centre Cumbernauld Ltd (CCCL) is a North Lanarkshire Council company set up to facilitate the redevelopment of Cumbernauld. 

CCCL is the body which facilitated the development of the £40m Antonine Shopping Centre in Cumbernauld, which opened in 2007 and brought 600 jobs to the town. The new centre forms part of a phased development of Cumbernauld town centre, facilitated by Campsies Centre Cumbernauld Ltd (CCCL). January 2004 saw the completion of the first phase of the more-than 100,000 sq. ft. Tesco store development, a near-£20m investment, which has brought 300 extra jobs to Cumbernauld.