Supported by players of People's Postcode Lottery, the new piece of canal art is being installed by local artistic groups Maia Creatives and We are Culla. Starting 12 April, the artwork will be painted on a section of wall along the Walsall Canal and should take a few weeks to install.
National street art trial
The project, which is part of a national street art trail across the canals in England & Wales, is aimed at transforming less cared-for spaces alongside canals into beautiful places with the help of local artists and community groups.
It is hoped that the art will encourage local people to visit the canal and enjoy the work of local artists. The art will replace antisocial 'tagging' on the wall and will tell the stories of the different communities who live along the canal.
Cities including Sheffield, Oxford, London, Leicester, Coventry, and Birmingham, already have some street art along their canals which has helped add additional colour and life to the waterways.
Adding colour to our canals
Adnan Saif, director for West Midlands at Canal & River Trust, said: “As a charity, Canal & River Trust, spends over £1 million a year clearing off graffiti tags and scribbles from across our canals. We want to work with local graffiti groups and artists to replace this with art and colour along the canal.
“Our research shows that being by water makes us all feel happier and healthier and I hope local people enjoy this new piece of art and take some time to explore their local canal.”
Laura Chow, head of charities at People's Postcode Lottery, said: “Its thanks to players of People's Postcode Lottery community projects like this one along the canal in Walsall can happen, and they make a real difference in connecting local communities to their local waterway.
“Art is a wonderful way to bring colour to the canals and a chance for community groups to feel ownership of their local waterway, as well as providing opportunities for them to work with artists to express themselves through this great outside art gallery. We're glad funding raised by our players is supporting Canal & River Trust to develop their national street art trail and look forward to seeing other locations coming alive in the future.”
People's Postcode Lottery
Thank you to players of People's Postcode Lottery for their support today and throughout the year. Future funding is intended to be awarded by Postcode Earth Trust, a promoting society of People's Postcode Lottery.
