Canalside art comes to Walsall
THE Canal & River Trust is working with a local street artist group to create public art along the Walsall Canal.
Supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, the new piece of canal art is being painted on a wall by local artistic groups Maia Creatives and We are Culla.
The project, which is part of a national street art trail across the canals in England and Wales, is aimed at transforming less caredfor spaces alongside canals into beautiful places with the help of local artists and community groups.
It is hoped that the art will encourage local people to visit the canal and enjoy the work of local artists. The art will replace antisocial ‘tagging’ on the wall and will tell the stories of the different communities who live along the canal.
Cities including Sheffield, Oxford, London, Leicester, Coventry and Birmingham already have some street art along their canals which has helped add extra colour and life to the waterways.
CRT West Midlands director Adnan Saif said: “As a charity, Canal & River Trust spends more than £1 million a year clearing off graffiti tags and scribbles from across our canals. We want to work with local graffiti groups and artists to replace this with art and colour along the canal.
“Our research shows that being by water makes us all feel happier and healthier and I hope local people enjoy this new piece of art and take some time to explore their local canal.”
Laura Chow, head of charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “It’s thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery that community projects like this one along the canal in Walsall can happen, and they make a real difference in connecting local communities to their local waterway.
“We’re glad funding raised by our players is supporting Canal & River Trust to develop their national street art trail and look forward to seeing other locations coming alive.” Future funding is intended to be awarded by Postcode Earth Trust, a promoting society of People’s Postcode Lottery.