A community creative project by the people of Miles Platting and Ancoats has been unveiled at Ancoats Primary Care Centre. The project was funded by MaST Estates Partnership and installed by FM contractor FES. The collage above the front entrance (pictured below) is the result of a series of community art workshops led by artist Len Grant on behalf of Jigsaw Homes.
Len explains how it came about:
“It’s all about nostalgia and what local people remember in the area as children and young adults. We started by looking at an old map and plotting where all the pubs used to be. The map also sparked memories of long demolished housing, old schools, places of work and even cinemas. I enlarged old photographs of many of the old buildings and then we used a lightbox to trace the outlines onto strips of card, usually four or five strips per picture. “Next we chose the colours we thought were appropriate for each picture. For instance, The Playhouse was painted in ochre, buff, pale orange and teal, the colours of cinema tickets we found online. Ancoats Dispensary was inspired by the colours of hospital signs and many of the pubs were painted in their brewery beer mat colours. Each of our two-hour weekly sessions led to the next as our conversations sparked new ideas. The giant colourful daisies were inspired by one of our participants, Steven, recalling his sisters making daisy chains in the park and, later, a favourite childhood toy, the Spirograph. Seeing their work displayed here will give our participants a huge sense of achievement but it’s the coming together to paint, to chat and have a laugh that’s the most important part.”
Commissioned by Gemma Bennett at Jigsaw Homes. Thanks to Steven, Niall, Yolande and Pauline at Miles Platting Community Library; to Elaine, Ged, Charles, Jim, Louise, Rose, Sandra, Sue, Diane, Susan at the Many Hands Craft Collective at Victoria Square, Ancoats and to Revd Ellie, Dot, Rachael, Aggie, Margaret, Valerie, Cath, Sue, Vincent and Gladys at the Church of the Apostles, Miles Platting.