Client: Swindon Heritage Action Zone (HAZ).
Overview: Swindon’s Railway Village has HAZ designation/funding to re-vitalise the area. At its centre, the dilapidated Mechanics’ Institute is surrounded by a protective 2.4 metre high hoarding.
Role: School workshop leader, mural designer.
Brief, aims and outcome: Attended multiple steering meetings; wrote basis of artists’ brief for HAZ project officer; worked closely with artist Tim Carroll to design “Life in the Railway Village” mural triptych; devised and led workshops for two schools' Key Stage 1 & 2 students to design murals; created two 7-metre mural designs, scaled-up and drew outline on hoardings – murals painted by volunteers.
Additional tasks: Information panels design
Initial concept by Tim Carroll. Used alongside historic photos in my schools' workshop introduction:
The workshops:
I chose drawings by children from each classs to create the mural design, making sure it complimented Tim's artwork:
The final murals:
Robert le Kyng Primary School, Class 9: We talked about non-motorised transport, how homes were built to house the influx of rail workers to the town, the tunnel under the tracks that workers used to reach the factories, what people wore and did in the past.
Bridlewood Primary School, Birch class: We talked about Victorian buildings, the GWR Children's Fête (see the helter-skelter and the cake stall), and leisure activities like football, the Boys' Brigade and skipping.
