The first mural from the Warwickshire County Council Blank Canvas project has been unveiled at Fossato Lounge in Kenilworth.
Blank Canvas is a community art project, funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund via Warwickshire County Council, and supported by the Community Rail Partnership. Ten murals will be installed in locations around the county, each reflecting the place they are in, and containing a Warwickshire Bear. Each piece is designed by a local artist working with a local community group, so that voices of the community are captured in the process.
The first mural, created by local artist Tim Robottom of Brink Contemporary Arts, in collaboration with a group of volunteers and young people at the Kenilworth Centre, is a real reflection of the town. The bears in the mural represent the intergenerational community and they are enjoying a cup of hot chocolate, highlighting the great variety of hospitality venues throughout the town. The iconic Kenilworth Castle features as a backdrop with fireworks ablaze in honour of the annual firework display. The mural also features a variety of ivy specific to the area, known as Kenilworth ivy, and the bee-friendly status of the town is reflected in the bees buzzing about the flowers.
Councillor Rob Howard, Portfolio Holder for Economy at Warwickshire County Council, said:
“Blank Canvas is a great project for our towns, creating artwork representative of the local community and adding vibrancy to our town centres. It's great to see these projects in our town centres, helping to create areas of interest and bring people into the towns to see how their community has been captured and using this as a chance to discover more within the local area.”
Tim Robottom of Brink Contemporary Arts added:
"I am extremely grateful to Warwickshire County Council for giving me the opportunity to further expand on the murals Brink have already created in Kenilworth. I would also like to thank the local community for input, feedback and overall positivity regarding the design, and of course Fossato Lounge for the wall!"
Chris Lewis, operations manager for Loungers, said:
“We are really happy that we have managed to land this project at Fossato Lounge. Being engaged with the local community is something we are passionate about at Loungers and the buzz that the mural has created around town is great. Being a Kenilworth resident myself it is great to see prominent pieces being displayed around town and hopefully there will be more to come.
“We have launched a name the bears competition to the people of Kenilworth and hope this generates some fun around town. It is exciting that the artwork shows some of Kenilworth’s most talked about assets and events and will hopefully create talking points for years to come”
Becky Webb, Joint Manager at Kenilworth Centre, added:
“As part of our youth provision delivery, we have a Pathway to Work program and host Duke of Edinburgh Volunteers at the Kenilworth Centre. We were invited to be part of a consultation group to talk about images that represented the community of Kenilworth. We invited some of our volunteers to be involved as well to create an intergenerational group. Although we were only briefly involved it was a great experience for our volunteers (young and old) to take part in the process.”
Make sure to pop by to see it – and keep an eye on our website for more murals coming soon!
