The summer 2017 project presented an opportunity to update the murals at the rear of the Community Learning Centre. Funding from Sale Community Panel and the Trafford Youth Trust helped to pay for materials, staff time and an artist to work with a group of young people.
(click on the picture for a high resolution panorama)
The process started after a group of young people requested that we do something to commemorate the people killed at Manchester Arena and the tragic death of local man, Mike Grimshaw. A two hour design workshop was held with the group and some of the participants on the summer holiday programme. We agreed to adapt the We Love Manchester message to Sale Moor and Manchester and recreate a historical journey across the mural.
Using the resources at the Learning Centre we collected lots of images representing the history of the city and town. A selection process whittled this down to the key elements the young people found interesting and helped to form the basis for the mural: 22 bees in the traditional colours and one bee in red, black and white to represent Mike. Romans at the Castlefield fort at Mamucium. The Red Rose of Lancashire. Stephenson’s Rocket and a circa 1890’s steam engine. The Peterloo Massacre at St. Peters Field in 1819. A cotton grass field leading to Sale Water Park. The atom to represent Rutherford’s splitting the atom at the University Of Manchester in 1917. Manchester City and Manchester United, with the Red Rose doubling up as the symbol of Lancashire CCC. Oasis and Madchester logos with music coming out of the city. A Manchester skyline with the railway bridges and a Metrolink coming to Sale Moor (a bit of a liberty taken there!). Sale Town Hall, a Cuckooflower to represent Cheshire, the Bridgewater Canal and the Dovecote at Walkden Gardens.
The following week the group started to paint out the previous murals and get the main colour shapes onto the wall. Over the space of four hours the wall was transformed and ready for the finishing touches. Some of the more confident members of the group helped to put the bees and other stencils onto the walls with our artist @JmeDzynz finishing off.
(click on the picture for a high resolution version)