THOUSANDS flock to Chalkwell Park when it hosts the Village Green festival and Southend Carnival Fair each year – but now it is stepping into the digital age Community arts group Metal is creating the world’s first digital art park, or NetPark. Visitors will able to download apps to guide them to artworks using GPS technology.

But for the rest of us not using the apps, the artwork won’t exist. Colette Bailey, Metal’s artistic director, said: “The park will be covered by free public wifi, and using GPS technology, you can locate specific artworks from anywhere in the world.

“Digital art is not new, but we believe nowhere else has used it in this way.

People will be able to see the artworks using their iphones or ipads.”

Metal has commissioned the first four artworks, after a competition during which it received entries from 90 artists from seven countries.

Ms Bailey said: “Joel Cahen will create a series of designs that explore the memories of the park for people of all ages.

“Mark Grist and MC Mixy will create three spoken word tours, using poetry and music. Rosie Poebright will create a story that involves the park visitor in an interactive narrative and Jamie Gledhill will make a playful project telling the social history of the park through talking trees.”

She added: “People can hold their device to a notch on a tree and the app will come to life.

There will be trees you can go to to tell you a story about the park.”

Matmos – an electronic music duo from Brooklyn, New York, who will be in residence at Metal during June– will create music and audio for NetPark.

Metal has involved primary schools in the project, with each working with writers and illustrators on stories which will be located in the park.

Ms Bailey added: “NetPark is a 21st century sculpture park that leaves the natural environment intact and unchanged. It is brilliant that Southend has embraced the idea to become the pioneers of this concept.”

Visitors towill be able to access the initial ten works, via smart media, from September 26. For those without access to smart media, loan equipment can be used free.

The project has been paid for through the Digital R&D Fund for the Arts, Nesta, the Arts & Humanities Research Council and the national Lottery, through Arts Council England.