New mural designed with the help of school pupils is unveiled in public garden in Warwick
A new mural has been completed at a public garden in Warwick.
The mural in Pageant Garden is the second mural in the Warwickshire County Council Blank Canvas project, and was designed by Stratford-based artist Ali Glover in collaboration with a group of pupils who attend the Packmores Community Centre tutoring sessions.
Blank Canvas is a community art project, funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund via Warwickshire County Council.
This is the second of ten murals which will be installed in locations around the county, each reflecting the place they are in, and containing the Warwickshire Bear.
Each piece is designed by a local artist working with a community group.
The children at Packmores Community Centre wanted the Warwick mural to "reflect the natural world, with flowers and animals forming the setting”.
They also “wanted to create a piece which made people feel happy, and reflected kindness, fun, and learning.”
The use of colour was important in the design, and Ali sought to reflect the brightness of the children’s own drawings in the colour palette she used throughout the piece.
The county council said the mural’s location in Pageant Garden “is a perfect setting for this bright and joyful design, reflecting the flowers in the garden itself, and its proximity to the castle”.
Ali, who also leads Make Murals and Workshops CIC, added: "I'm really pleased to be involved in this project and particularly enjoyed translating the children's wonderfully creative ideas into the design.
"It was a pleasure to work in the garden, connecting with locals and visitors who shared their stories and experiences.
"Being able to talk to people about the work as it was being done made the project feel like a part of the community, and it's a fantastic testament to the children's creativity that their ideas resonated so well with the public."
Suzette Agard, from the Packmores Community Centre added: “The children of our Core Success after school club for eight to 11-year-olds, were thrilled to be involved in the design of such a prominent mural.
"Through term time the children enjoy weekly tutored sessions at the Packmores Community Centre, focusing on literacy and numeracy and rounded off by a delicious hot meal.
"This workshop was a wonderful opportunity for them to nurture their creativity and explore their idea of community.
"Asked to suggest what Warwick really means to them, the children fully engaged with the brief, putting their individual ideas to a special neon paper card.
"Each of the children recognised an element of their own ideas in the finished design and took real pride in this. The only problem now is that they keep asking to do it again.”
Mark Ryder, executive director for communities at Warwickshire County Council, said: “Blank Canvas is a great project for our towns, creating artwork representative of the local community and adding vibrancy to our town centres.
"It's great to see these projects in our town centres, helping to create areas of interest and bring people into the towns to see how their community has been captured and using this as a chance to discover more within the local area.”