Find the hidden icons of Barnsley with ARtQuest for Barnsley - a new augmented reality art hunt

A free interactive art trail to captivate imaginations of all ages has been launched across the six Principal Towns of Barnsley.

You can now embark on a unique AR adventure across Cudworth, Goldthorpe, Hoyland, Penistone, Royston, and Wombwell with ARtQuest for Barnsley.

This immersive new trail, featuring six amazing creatures, including a lion prowling in Royston and a phoenix soaring through Goldthorpe, invites you to explore the rich cultural tapestry of our towns.

It’s the innovative work of artist Patrick Murphy and poet and writer Ian McMillan.

Stunning three-dimensional augmented-reality sculptures, all crafted by Patrick, are waiting to be discovered, along with spoken word poem for each town, written by Ian.

Each icon can be found in a central location within its respective town, ready to be revealed by scanning a unique QR code with your smartphone camera or AR-enabled device.

The trail is part of Storying Barnsley, our programme of projects aimed at bringing the stories and history of Barnsley’s towns to life.

Cabinet Spokesperson for Regeneration and Culture, Cllr Robin Franklin, said: “Whoever thought they would ever see a unicorn making its stately way along Wombwell High Street or a lion prowling through Royston Wells?

“This wonderful new art trail offers a truly original way to unlock and experience the story of our towns.

“ARtQuest is just one of the many connecting strands of Storying Barnsley, which is enabling folk from across Barnsley to tell their stories as never before.

“We hope everyone will have fun exploring Barnsley’s towns and learning about their past, present and future in a new and interesting way.”

Most of the animated characters are based on the towns’ coats of arms, while two other locations have links to particular creatures.

Stops on the trail include:

• Hoyland Town Square - where a kestrel will circle and hover before landing, referencing Barry Hines’ classic novel, A Kestrel and a Knave.
• High Street, Wombwell - the location for a strutting unicorn, inspired by the heraldic symbol seen on the town crest displayed in the high street. This is drawn from the coat of arms of Sir George Wombwell, who was born in Barnsley and from Wombwell.
• Royston Wells – the place to be in Barnsley to see a lion, as featured on the town crest of Royston.
• On the Trans Pennine Trail at Penistone (next to Penistone Showground) – where you can see a martlet, a mythical bird often seen in heraldry, including on the coat of arms of the local De Laci family. It is also featured on the crest of Penistone Church FC and Penistone Grammar School.
• Cudworth’s St John’s Gardens - which will feature a rabbit. Cudworth does not have a coat of arms but has connections with rabbits and holds an annual “bunny trail”.
• Goldthorpe’s Horse and Groom Square – where a phoenix representing the town’s rebirth and regeneration and referencing nearby Phoenix Park can be seen.

Patrick and Ian learned more about the six towns’ histories during community workshops for their companion project A Walk Around Town.

They are working together to create a collection of artistic maps for the six towns, each featuring a poem inspired by its location.

Artist Patrick Murphy said: “When we were conducting our community engagement workshops for A Walk Around Town, we were amazed to uncover so much information about various elements of each town’s history.

“One thing that stood out was that most of the towns had town crests which featured animals, and those that didn't, like Cudworth and Goldthorpe, had strong ties with the animals we have chosen.”

Look for the special markers at each location to join in. Everyone joining the ARtQuest is encouraged to share their photos of the AR treasures on social media using #ARtQuestForBarnsley and #StoryingBarnsley.

Storying Barnsley is Barnsley Council's three-year Cultural Development Fund (CDF2) engagement programme, funded by Department for Digital Culture, Media and Sport and administered by Arts Council England.

Captions:

Image 1: ARtQuest creators Ian McMillan and Patrick Murphy try out the app in Wombwell. Photo by Shaun Colborn.

Image 2: A screenshot of a golden kestrel in Hoyland Town Square.

Image 3: How the unicorn icon appears on screen. Photo by Gavin Joynt.

High-resolutions images are available on request.