5 New Murals for Old Trafford
OT Art Trail is a new project funded by Arts Council England that is designed to tie the community together, much needed after months of isolation and distancing.
A series of five large new artworks will be created on walls and the gable ends of five buildings around Old Trafford all within a ten min walking route of OT creative SPACE.
The initial theme will be ‘Community Togetherness and diversity’. There will be a series of opportunities (online workshops, social media campaigns, studio projections and through creative packs) where members of the community will be invited to discuss the theme and add to it and develop a range of ideas , words and images that represent Old Trafford. This information will then be collated and categorised by the OT creative VOICE group and given to five artists to translate into artworks that will then be presented as the landmarks within a walking trail around Old Trafford. To accompany the trail there will be a piece of spoken word and sound art.
The artists will also collaborate on developing an Arts Award pack that participants from local schools and community organisations can use when following the trail. The tours can be led by school teachers, parents and OTCS staff and a tour guides info pack will be made available on the OTCS website. On completion of the pack Children and young people will gain an Discover Arts award.
The project will be documented by the OT Youth Forum and throughout the project there will be projections on to “The Window” at OTCS sharing the progression from initial ideas to the Murals being created.
The Artists
Robert Lomas is an independent designer and artist from Old Trafford.
His bold and positive work explores typography, colour and movement through a range of different mediums including animation, paper craft, screen printing and spray paint.
And his design journey has seen him work with a wide range of people from arts organisations, universities and charities through to musicians.
At the heart of what he does is a desire to create design and art that connects with people on an emotional level and hopefully brings them some joy.
Martene Rouke is a graffiti artist and photographer from Manchester working on large and small scale
paintings and drawings. She has been involved with graffiti art since 2001 and has travelled
across Europe and the United States to meet and paint with other graffiti artists. He work has taken
her to Belgrade, Istanbul, Milan, New York and Chicago but since becoming a mother she works
much more locally! Her current work is a development of abstract forms inspired directly by
graffiti lettering and the urban built environment.
Jamie Rennie has over thirty years experience pursuing his general love of the arts being skilled in graffiti, graphics, video, illustration, design and glass !
While pursuing his private practice he has also found working with young people and in the community sector has allowed him to be innovative in utilising his artistic skills for a wider benefit.
Jamie has worked with tens of thousands of young people from all over the country and from all
backgrounds on a multitude of ability levels ranging from large scale participatory murals, substance misuse projects to bringing the Cosmos alive in the classroom. There are not too many subjects
he hasn’t covered, Arabic Graffiti and Loan Sharks being a recent highlight!
In the last few years he has worked extensively with groups working on heritage projects allowing him to build an extensive knowledge of the social history of Manchester and in particular Old
Trafford, Northenden, Wythenshawe and Sale.
Sam Owen Hull is a contemporary artist working in Manchester.
Her work is an intuitive response to her world view and the increasing polarisation of society, examining the edges where opposing ideas meet. She uses the areas between surface and space, working at the intersection of painting and sculpture, fine art and craft. The speed of gestural painterly marks contrast with the slow precision of hand embroidery.
The construction of her work reflects the contradictions of our needs and desires from a macro to micro level – our incessant construction of borders and systems against a desire for freedom. Our contradictory relationship with nature. Presence and absence. Growth and decay. She is particularly interested in the edges where the urban meets the natural. Shifting colour and light are brought into the surfaces she constructs by the use of matte, satin and metallic thread.
Isaiah is a writer and spoken word artist from Old Trafford and developed his poetry and performance as a member of Young Identity. He has supported major poets and artists, including Lemn Sissay and Skepta.
