The programme will include a new sculpture in Staveley Town Centre as part of the Staveley 21 regeneration project.
Artist Coralie Turpin has been appointed to deliver the Staveley project.
Coralie’s research with Chesterfield Canal Trust led her to find out about the historic ‘Cuckoo boats’. These boats were pulled by horses and were the only boats with sails on the canal enabling them to sail out onto the river Trent and then out to sea. They were unique to Staveley and Coralie felt that they showcased the great ingenuity and courage of the people of the area. 
There are historians who point to the use of the term Cuckoo referring to the boats dating back to the early 19th Century. The Trent boatmen thought the canal boatmen were mad (cuckoo) for venturing onto the wild river in such craft.
Coralie connected with the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust to find out about local species that you can find around the Staveley canal that might feature on the artwork.
Coralie met Staveley residents at Edge Ministries, to talk about the project and listen to their ideas to feed into her design.
She also delivered a number of creative workshops with pupils from Staveley Junior School and Netherthorpe School themed around the Cuckoo Boat and research that she carried out.
Coralie has also returned to the schools to host further workshops where pupils have created their own mosaic designs which will feature on the sculpture.
All of this research and input from the community and young people inspired Coralie to design ‘Cuckoo Boat Sail’.
Coralie has used the shape of the incredible sail of the Cuckoo Boat to shine a light on this unique heritage of Staveley and teamed it up with imagery of local wildlife to celebrate the natural beauty of the area and encourage people to explore the Staveley Canal.
The sections of the sail represent cell structures, leaf veins and natural forms. Coralie will use hand cut mosaic techniques to feature local wildlife and flora and fauna that you can find around the Canal alongside mini mosaic artworks created by pupils from Staveley Junior School and Netherthorpe School which will be installed onto the sculpture to complement Coralie’s own work.
The sculpture is set to be installed in Staveley Town Centre by the end of 2025 to line up with the anticipated completion of the town centre regeneration project.
Coralie Turpin
Originally from the North West Coralie moved to Sheffield to study Fine Art Sculpture BA(HONS) in the late 80s, she is now a full time professional Artist working on public art commissions involving schools and communities across the UK.
She’s making an enormous roman mosaic for Scarborough seafront in collaboration with artist Jeremy Deller scheduled to be installed in spring 2025. She has been commissioned by Yorkshire Sculpture Park to create a five meter tall sculpture for a private collector and in 2022 she won a commendation from the Keith Hayman Public Art Award.
Coralie created a sculpture for Chesterfield Borough Council's Badger Croft development in Loundsley Green and now she’s coming to Staveley to research the local heritage and nature to create an interactive artwork for the new marketplace.