March 2007
MACE-funded artwork 'stunning'
MACE Regeneration has funded 21 schools to produce giant murals to create an open air gallery around the soon-to-be-developed 20 acres of derelict land that encompasses Nene Waterfront Regeneration scheme. Nene Waterfront Development Project Manager Chris Bowers inspected some of the stunningly eye-catching murals that will go on public view in the near future.
The open air gallery project was born out of the Nene Community Forum, which was set up so that community groups and organisations could look at ways of adding value to the regeneration project as a whole.At a visit to Ramnoth Junior School and the Queens School in Wisbech, Chris was 'bowled over' by the artistic talent that was bursting out of the murals.At Ramnoth Road Junior School, the beautifully coloured 8ft by 4ft depiction of the new development was a truly communal effort, with every child in the school having a hand in its creation.
The aim of the Mace-funded art project was to engage school children and young people in the multi-million pound regeneration programme that will transform their lives now and when they become adults.Junior school pupils at Ramnoth Road have certainly taken the project to heart, judging from the attention to detail that has gone into their mural. Along the way, the youngsters have learned valuable skills such as working as part of a team , planning a major project and learning to look closely at, and appreciate, their immediate environment.The Queens School was so keen on the project that the Year 9 pupils there created three giant murals, all of stunning artistic quality. Dozens of pupils threw themselves into the task of designing and executing complicated designs that professionals would have been proud of.
MACE Regeneration provided the 8ft by 4ft marine plywood, the paints, the varnish and the frames for each of the 21 schools, at a cost of £2,500.Chris Bowers said: "This has been a fantastic success. The pupils have really pulled out all the artistic and team working skills to create murals that are frankly stunning. The people of Wisbech and indeed the whole of Fenland are in for a real treat when these murals go on public display." MACE always seeks to support community initiatives on whatever project we are working on and this has been a particularly fine example community engagement."
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