Wall to wall art at Wilstead and Wixams
Fine Art students from Bedford College have
given new life to an underpass connecting Wilstead and Wixams with
an art project that puts colour and light onto the walls.
Kaya Lightfoot and Klavs Kurpnieks, both 2nd
year BTEC National Diploma Fine Art students, took part in a
community project and devoted their summer holidays to creating art
to brighten the walls of the gloomy underpass and bring art to the
community.
Jason Noble, Course Leader, Art,
Design & Media, said:
“Our students have shown real commitment to
this community project and in fact have become designers,
negotiators, practitioners and mentors to local children during the
process.
They had to attend a number of meetings with
local people and agencies. A brief was agreed and the
students came up with three design briefs for approval for
residents of all ages. That was quite a challenge but one
that they grasped quickly and worked hard to complete. The
result is an inspiring piece of artwork.”
The graffiti mural took the students many
hours of work during the summer in coming up with the design for 7
panels. They then spend 2 long days and nights reproducing
the design with spray paint onto the walls of the underpass.
Klavs and Kaya explained their design
idea:
“From one end of the underpass you will see a
face blowing onto a dandelion and the seeds being blown the full
length of the wall. The seeds represent young people growing
up and leaving or staying. The changing light as the
sun rises and sets and the change in weather reflects on the wall,
so that it is always giving a new perspective.”
“The community wanted flowers to form the
basis of the wall and we used Monet's influence of green and brown
colours, following the design through from the wall to the banks of
the underpass.”
“After college and university we both want to
work with clients and this has been a fantastic experience for us,
listening to the community and coming up with a design and making
it work. It was quite an achievement to persuade people that
less is more!”
To learn more about Bedford College and its
contribution to the arts go to www.bedford.ac.uk.