A little bit about the project and how I got involved…
I first got involved with the mural project when the organisers CforLP saw another mural I had painted for a local theatre for their Christmas display and asked if I would attend a council meeting and come and speak with the teenagers who had volunteered to transform the alley.
The aim of the mural project was to transform Mill Race Lonning, which was a very dirty alleyway, and one of the main entrances to Maryport's main shopping street. People told us they felt unsafe walking through if it was getting dark in winter, and it was quite a depressing entrance to the town which has so many other good features and so much potential.
Creative workshops with the young people...
CforLP (Centre for Leadership Performance) is a non-profit organisation which works with young people and local professionals to develop confidence and essential skills, to give young people more opportunities in their career paths.
In my first session with the young people, they told me about how they thought their town had so much potential, with its historic harbour and Georgian sandstone buildings and beautiful wild coastline. They researched parts of the town they wanted to celebrate in the mural. The town has a great aquarium, lots of history, including a huge harbour dating back to roman times, a long promenade stretching the length of the beach, and more importantly, friendly down to earth people.
This was certainly proved when we were painting the mural and everyone who passed by was so appreciative of what we were doing to the space, one pub owner even brought me a bottle of wine to say thank you!
What was the most rewarding thing about the project?
I was really impressed by how enthusiastic and committed the young people were to the project. They gave up Saturday mornings and lots of evenings to come to creative workshops, to help them develop their skills and designs.
One 14-year-old told me, “I was so excited when they told
me about the project, and I thought I have loads of ideas!” I knew the challenge was going to be helping bring all these weird and wonderful ideas into a co-horrent design. I think mural projects are a lovely idea to transform run down spaces, but they can sometimes look a bit like graffiti, and there was plenty of that already on the wall!
Where's Whally?
In our first session I showed the young people how to brainstorm visually and we looked at limited colour palettes and how to unite imagery. Researching inspiration from illustrators that had worked with maritime themes, the group decided a simple graphic style was best, with chilled sea blues and hints of coral to brighten the design.
The kids had so many ideas! Including a “Where’s Wally” crowd of people where you had to find famous figures from the town, from Thomas Ismay the founder of The White Star Line (best known of course for the Titanic) to Roman soldiers racing down the streets in chariots, and the local champion boxer in his tighty underpants!
Amazingly the final design features all the above! One side of the alley has an illustrated map with crowds walking through all the best-known places in town. And the other features a maritime theme with a big ship (nod to titanic) riding a wave falling into an octopus, who happens to be holding all the towns take-away foods in each tentacle!
What was the most challenging thing about the project?
Drawing out the design onto such a big wall! There were two walls, each ten metres by over three metres high, and we couldn’t get any scaffolding. But we found an ingenious solution in the form of taping a pencil to the end of a long stick of bamboo from my garden! An artist friend- Joanne Little, and I drew most of the design onto the walls, and the kids and volunteers did an amazing job of painting it in.
Why did you want to get involved with the project?
I wanted to get involved to encourage young people in creative career paths and to transform a key area of my local town. Everyone that walks past the mural comments how amazing it is, and the local people have been so appreciative of all the hard work volunteers have put in. The town has begun to get more investment and the high street is gradually being transformed to make the most of its unique maritime heritage.
"It’s lovely to see life being breathed into grey spaces. I hope that through the act of dreaming up ideas, and planning and seeing this mural achieved, that it has grown the groups sense of what is possible and hope for what they can achieve in the future."
With thanks to the sponsors, volunteers, artists and young people involved.
The Maryport Community Arts Project was funded by the regeneration team of Cumberland Council, formerly Allerdale Local Committee of Cumbria County Council. And the project was delivered by the Centre for Leadership Performance and local young people, along with volunteers and local artists, Rachel Gaw, Joanne Little, Lisa Illustrates and Jenny Daymond.