The community spirit of Eccles has been put on display across the hoardings surrounding the regeneration works.
The hoardings have been put in place as demolition work on parts of the town’s shopping centre and its multi-storey car park began, and have flourished into a huge outdoor gallery showcasing the incredible artistic talents of local schools and community groups.
The work has been completed by community groups in the area and have been put on display from Friday 25 July.
Salford City Council commissioned prolific global art producer, and brains behind Bee in the City, Wild in Art, to engage with a selection of groups from across the local area, asking people: ‘what do you love about Eccles?’
The response to Wild in Art from the Eccles community was phenomenal and has inspired art created from the community.
The project and final art works have been created by year 4 pupils at St Andrew’s CE Primary, Eccles, students from St Patrick’s RC High School, a youth group from The Castle Community Centre, men’s peer support group Talk About It Mate and members of Salford Heart Care’s Healthy Heart Group.
For the project ‘We Love Eccles’, each group was supported by a professional artist, who collaborated closely with them to turn their ideas into stunning artwork.
Following the unveiling of the project, Head of Creative Development at Wild in Art, Ben Reed said: “We are with Wild in Art, so we have done a couple of projects in Eccles over the years, so we have been able to build a strong connection with groups in the area.
“We knew with the developments, people had a lot of strong connections with the town – so when we were contacted about the hoardings, we thought it would be great opportunity to involve the local community.”
Working with the groups, they have been able to capture the different generations and members of the community through using the four different groups – so that “everyone could be part of the conversation.”
And the different groups were able to work with different artists, and create their own styles based on that – which has led to different artwork being put up around the hoardings.
Ben continued: “I think something like this has brought the area to life, and with the inclusion of the personal stories and the art work it has really allowed it to become personal with the area.
“And the Eccles people are very proud, and the area has so much potential and they want the best for where they live, so allowing them to be able to create and be apart of that conversation will make them feel proud during the interim of the development.”
The artwork will serve as a love letter to Eccles and will encourage a sense of pride of place in the town centre.
Inspiration for the artworks ranged from connections created by local transport links, the town’s ever-evolving mix of architecture, and precious personal memories of life in Eccles.
School children created a scene of drawings of animals, people and vehicles that represent what they love about their hometown, and young people identified key local landmarks that were worked into a unique doodle map of Eccles.
In the artwork around the town centre, it will also feature a mosaic created by artist Lauren Mullarkey with the Healthy Heart Group.
The mosaic features pieces of various items donated by group members including cups and saucers bought from Eccles Market, along with dress jewellery, badges and tiles they had at home.
Referencing the town’s coat of arms, the finished mosaic has been photographed for inclusion on the hoardings, which will be exhibited at Eccles Gateway.
Lauren said: “I hope a project like this can build some pride for the people of Eccles, as working with the Healthy Hearts Group was that they have different memories – and they have period of history that others don’t, and so many lovely memories that have been put into the design.
“The mosaic is a tapestry of memories, with images and words being shown throughout. This is my second project with the people of Eccles, and once again it has been amazing to be able celebrate the people and the feelings they have.
“People in the community do have their strong feelings to the changes, but they have showed the pride they share in the artwork.”
The mosaic took Lauren two months of work to complete – with a lot of stop start changes being made to the design.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed putting everyone’s memories together – even if it was small, they have contributed, it is amazing.”
Designed with various locations around Eccles being noticeable – with every glance at the mosaic being able to find another piece of Eccles history – all brought to life by members of Salford Heart Care’s Healthy Heart Group.
“There are so many amazing stories, and each one of the group members that contributed are so brave – as not only have they had an influence on the artwork but have shared their stories, that will be on display for everyone to see.”
Lauren continued: “The stories are interweaved through the design, and they will be on display to everyone.”
The demolition is being done in phases with phase one already underway and due to finish by the end of the year.
During this period, the rest of the town centre (including Church Street, Boothway and The Mall) remains open for business as usual – with the hoardings of Eccles set to be decorated during this time period.
More information about the large-art project on the hoardings exhibited in Eccles can be found here.
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