Manchester artist Mark Kennedy is helping to restore a mosaic trail around Salford Quays.
The Quays Millennium mosaics were created by Mark 20 years ago based on the designs of schoolchildren across Salford and Trafford.
Virtual archivist for the project Phil Tresadern said: “I see the mosaics as pieces of a much bigger puzzle.
“They need to be celebrated as they have outlived a lot of the schools that have created them.”
“We’re not just preserving a piece of art, we’re preserving a piece of history.”
The 23 mosaics were launched by Sir Bobby Charlton in 2003 and can be found along different pathways in Salford Quays.
The Salford and Trafford Education Action Zone partnered up with companies and local artists in the area to give disadvantaged school children a creative outlet.
Putting a spotlight on the mosaics aims to encourage these organisations to get involved in similar community work.
Director of the Salford and Trafford EAZ Jo Joliffe said: “It’s not just about the mosaics, it has far greater potential in its social possibilities.”
“I think together we can do a whole lot more not just for the arts, but for the Salford community.”
Mark Kennedy has since become a prolific artist around Manchester designing the Afflecks Palace mosaics.
The artist has an affinity for helping children in disadvantaged circumstances through creative projects.
John Warmisham, chair of education during the Salford and Trafford EUZ said: “The action zone looked at trying to raise the aspirations of children in Salford and give them a different learning experience.
We wanted to get the children to see things differently through art and create something that could be left behind.”
A plaque will be added alongside the mosaics to show people their history and why they were created.
Jo and Phil hope to get accounts from people involved to create an archive of community art history.
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