New public artworks to transform Highfield Campus
New public artworks by artists Rhona Byrne, Katie Schwab and Tania Kovats will transform the University of Southampton’s North East Quadrant (NEQ) development.
The University of Southampton, in partnership with UP Projects, John Hansard Gallery and Turner Sims, has announced a series of major public art commissions for the NEQ at Highfield Campus.
The development, known as Building 75, will provide a cutting-edge teaching and learning environment. These new artworks will embed art into everyday campus life, creating spaces for reflection, connection and exchange for students, staff and local communities.
The commissions are guided by ‘The Welcoming Campus: Art, People and Nature in Dialogue’, a public art strategy developed in 2024–25 through consultation led by artist Vanessa Rolf with university students, local residents and community groups, including Cantell School, Bassett Green Primary School and Swaythling Primary School.
Together, the artworks aim to welcome, challenge and connect people, encouraging dialogue between people, place and nature. They also build on the University’s long-standing relationship with sculpture, joining existing works by artists including Barbara Hepworth and Conrad Shawcross.
The commissions
Rhona Byrne (Dublin) creates socially engaged work exploring space, participation and belonging. The Welcoming Campus will include two artworks at key entrances to the NEQ, focusing on arrival, inclusion and welcome.
Katie Schwab (Glasgow) works with craft, learning and material culture. Play the Campus will introduce interactive artworks that encourage movement, play and participation across the site.
Tania Kovats (Devon) creates sculptural works exploring relationships with the natural world. Art + Nature will offer a sculptural response that brings together art, people and nature.
Across all three commissions, artists will collaborate with students, academics and local residents, supporting the vision of an inclusive and accessible campus.
NEQ Community Engagement: Textile banners by Vanessa Rolf with students from Bassett Green Primary School, Cantell School, and Swaythling Primary School, at the Turner Sims Summer Festival, 2025. Image © Nosa Malcolm
