A large-art project is being delivered on hoardings around the town centre of Eccles this summer as regeneration work progresses.
The project ‘We Love Eccles’ will see spectacular large-scale artworks from local community groups bring some striking colour and creativity.
Salford City Council announced the project, with the artwork coming alongside the first stages of work to transform the town centre – and will be on display from Friday 25 July.
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.
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.
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.
The large-scale art project will be exhibited on hoardings around Eccles as regeneration work progresses and will be used to showcase the community together.
And this was echoed by Deputy City Mayor and Lead Member for Finance, Support Services and Regeneration, Councillor Jack Youd, who said.
“It is wonderful to see this bright colourful celebration of community pride, We Love Eccles, on display in the heart of the town centre as we embark on this period of major change.
“Local people overwhelmingly told us they wanted to see bold changes in the town centre. The demolition and redevelopment of Eccles Shopping Centre and the disused multi-storey car park were viewed as a priority.”
He continued: “The demolition will give us an opportunity to create a more vibrant town centre that meets the needs of existing residents as well as attracting new people to contribute to the future for Eccles!”
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.
Councillor Hannah Robinson-Smith, Lead Member for Culture, Heritage, Equalities, Sports and Leisure continued: “It’s great to see local people’s affection for Eccles generating such incredible creativity, and the resulting art being produced at such a large scale – it’s going to bring a vibrant splash of colour to the area as this major change takes place.
“In the meantime, I would encourage people to continue to support local businesses in the rest of the town centre, as well as enjoying the striking We Love Eccles artworks.”
Head of Creative Development at Wild in Art, Ben Reed, says: “We’ve really enjoyed working with local members of the community in Eccles on this project over the past few months.
“The artwork that has been created is going to look amazing on the hoardings.”
The artwork will be on display around Eccles from Friday 25 July, as residents will be able to see a project by the people of Eccles, for the people of Eccles.
Featured image – Mosaic by artist Lauren Mullarkey and Eccles (Winton) Healthy Heart Club
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