Of all the positive things to come out of the last 12 months, one aspect has been the creative community taking art and design to the streets like never before. Here in Manchester, local designer Robert Lomas has been in touch about a new mural project that gets the whole of Old Trafford involved.
The OT Art Trail calls on the city borough to help create six large murals on walls and buildings around Old Trafford, creating a trail for people to safely explore and enjoy. Organised by OT Creative SPACE and funded by Arts Council England, the theme of the project is community and togetherness.
"Old Trafford has got a really great and diverse community, so the first part of the project is all about giving people in Old Trafford an opportunity to get involved in something creative during the lockdown," Robert tells Creative Boom.
As part of this initial phase, OT Creative SPACE has been putting on a range of different talks and zoom workshops for people to have their say. And Robert has been working with the local artist Lynda Sterling on a series of line illustrations that show the different mural locations.
These black and white drawings have been included in a creative pack that has been distributed to residents across Old Trafford, inviting them to add their own artwork onto a chosen mural location and share their thoughts on what the area means to them. If you want to get involved yourself, you can download the series of illustrations here.
Once all feedback is gathered from the local community, the six murals will be created around Old Trafford with the help of artists Qubek of Mural Life, Martene Rouke, Jamie Rennie, Sam Owen Hull, and the poet, Isaiah Hull.
"I'm also organising the Seymour Park mural where I'm planning to invite a range of designers, illustrators and artists from around the area to submit a letter design each to make up the mural artwork," adds Robert.
Want to get involved? Visit otcreativespace.co.uk to find out more or follow Robert Lomas on Instagram to see the project progress.
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