Supported by players of People's Postcode Lottery, these new pieces of canal art have taken inspiration from the local community and its links with the canal.
The artwork
In Walsall the new art installation has been created by We are Culla along the canal near Steep Bridge Way. The artwork was designed by Dawn Hamblett, a volunteer at the Trust, and shows a traditional working narrowboat being pulled by a horse.
In Coventry, the canal art has been installed by Midlands-based street art organisation BRINK Arts and was designed with the help of local school children in Foleshill. The art celebrates the cottage weaving industry and its link with the city and local people.
The art encourages local people to visit the canal and enjoy the work of local artists. It will tell the stories of the different communities who live along the canal.
Cities including Sheffield, Oxford, London, Leicester, and Birmingham already have street art along their canals, adding additional colour and life to the waterways.
Transforming places
Jon Horsfall, our interim director for the West Midlands, said: “It's wonderful to see how art can help transform places and our canals are no different. Having these bright, fun murals along our waterways encourages people to come and visit and see for themselves why canals are special and feel the wellbeing benefits of spending time by the water.
“Our canals are enjoying a second gold age, used by more people and in more ways than the great Georgian canal engineers could ever have imagined. Our 250-year-old network brings much-loved wildlife into the heart of the diverse communities it runs through and is the vital green space used by millions of people in our towns and cities. It has an important role to play in the decades ahead, for the wellbeing of communities, protecting biodiversity and mitigating the effects of a changing climate.
“To protect and preserve these special places and ensure they don't fall back into the dark days of dereliction and decline that was the story of the early and mid-20th century, we need Government, partners, funders, and the community to join us and raise the money and resources required to care for this amazing historic network.”
