Reflections – Looking back on 20 years of Sky Mirror

Unveiled outside Nottingham Playhouse in 2001, the award-winning Sky Mirror is a renowned piece of our city’s cultural architecture that has provided the backdrop to many memories over the years. The sculpture was voted Nottingham’s favourite landmark in a landslide victory in 2007 and was even rumoured to be “capable of barbecuing birds in its path” – although no pigeons have ever been harmed.

Sir Anish Kapoor is one of the most influential sculptors of our time, winning the Turner Prize in 1991 and creating a number of celebrated pieces of art including the famous Cloud Gate in Chicago’s Millennium Park. Versions of Sky Mirror have also been presented at the Rockefeller Center, Kensington Gardens and the Palace of Versailles.

To celebrate, we are hosting a photo competition where we want you to share you memories of Sky Mirror, alongside a creative writing competition in collaboration with our friends at Nottingham City of Literature.

Over the summer, we hosted two competitions to celebrate; a photography competition where we asked you to share your memories of Sky Mirror and a writing competition in collaboration with our friends at Nottingham City of Literature.

We had a fantastic selection of entries for both competitions and would like to thank everyone who entered for taking the time to share their photographs and stories with us.

The winners of the Writing Competition in collaboration with Nottingham City of Literature are:

First Prize: Lucy Campion with their work No Princesses. You can read this entry here.

Second Prize: Gail Webb with their work Sky Mirror.

Third Prize: Harry Wilding their work Uh-Oh. You can read this entry here.

Under 16s Prize: Lanya Omar with their work Sky Mirror. You can read this entry here.

Judge of the competition Khaya Ayomide Job said:

“All of the winners encapsulated the magic behind the Sky Mirror and Nottingham in a humanistic, vulnerable, humorous and relatable way. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of the entires, and everyone should be so very proud of themselves!”

The winners of the photography competition are: Rachel Allen, Peter Curzon, Pam Ghattaura, Nick Owen, Ros Taylor, Matthew Theobald, Amelia Thomas and Brigitte Urman. Their stunning entries will be shared in a digital gallery in the theatre in 2022. The photographs are also featured in the video below.

Thank you to everyone who took part in our celebrations and entered the competitions.