Youth Leadership through Art Activism
These murals look great in this area. I love how it draws attention to the small things you would miss easily. I learnt about the pineapple weed which features in the design and then picked some from opposite the shop. It’s good to notice the small things and know that nature is thriving in areas we might not expect it to!
Big Wall participant
‘Big Wall’ was a creative initiative led by Big Worle and funded by the Big Local Trust, in partnership with Weston-super-Mare Town Council and Super Culture.
The project supported a group of eight young people, aged 13 to 16, from Worle Community School and Priory Community School to take part in a structured creative programme devised to support them to gain leadership skills to create a new public artwork for Worle.
The young people took part in workshops with professional artists, attended research trips and supported the delivery of public events.
Importantly, the Art Activists played a central role in commissioning the artist to create the public artwork. Artist’s duo Profile supported the young people to create a brief, set interview questions and sit on the panel as part of the recruitment for the lead artist and the successful applicant, Sarah Dicks, a Weston based artist collaborated with the young people to explore ideas, interests and creative methods which informed the final artwork design.
The young people took part in research trips to explore public art and street art, this included visiting the Weston Walls Street art installations, exploring street art in Bristol and visiting Galleries and Museums in London as well as the Leake Street Arches graffiti tunnels.
Alongside this the Art Activist group, supported by Super Culture, led creative community consultation sessions where local residents provided feedback and support for the design of the public artwork.
The project culminated in the creation of the public art where the young people took lead roles in spray painting the designs and seeing the walls transform and burst with colour.
In total a core group of 8 young Arts Activists took part in Weston Wallz. The project provided paid opportunities for 12 freelance artists and creative practitioners from the local area and wider region
The artwork will be in place at Worle for a period of up to two years.
Big Wall is part of Super Culture’s commitment to using arts and culture to create connections, develop skills and feel pride in where we live. To Find out more about what the young people go up to in the project click here or to explore our other projects click here.