Old Trafford Creative Space launched the project to brighten the area
Written by Sara Teiger
Artists worked with the local community in Old Trafford to create six custom large format murals as part of a community art project organized by OT Creative Space.
The designs were then painted on walls and buildings in the Old Trafford, Manchester area, including Seymour Park and Ayres Road. The street art sites were linked together via a downloadable audio tour suitable for people of all ages.
Five artists with very different styles were commissioned to paint the murals. They are Old Trafford artist and designer Robert Lomas, aerosol and graffiti art specialist Jamie Rennie, visual artist Sam Owen Hull, Russ Meehan, also known as Mural Life, and graffiti artist and photographer Martene Rouke.
Trafford-born artist and spoken word writer Isaiah Hull also created a piece of spoken word to tie the murals together.
According to Lynda Sterling of OT Creative Space, who ran the company, getting a community art trail going during consecutive lockdowns wasn’t easy.
Instead of holding the planned workshops in schools, dormitories and other community settings, the Art Trail team instead shipped 300 creative packs and ran a series of activity sessions via Zoom and social media, as well as interactive displays in the window of OT Creative Square on Ayres Road .
Participants were made aware of the project by organizations such as the Trafford Housing Trust, NHS Social Prescribing Team, St. John’s Center and Manchester South Food Bank, and creative packages were distributed to families in local parks, including Seymour Park.
In February, the trail team held a raffle with local shops to encourage people to come up with their ideas. Students from two local schools – St. Alphonsus RC Primary and Old Trafford Community Academy – were also asked to share their thoughts on what Old Trafford means to them.
Lynda Sterling, Trail Coordinator, said, “We had to be very creative to maximize community participation at a time when we are encouraged to stay apart rather than come together.”
“Technology played a role, but so did good old-fashioned paper and colored pencils.”
Locations chosen for the larger than life murals include a takeaway pizza shop and three homes of Old Trafford residents.
Lynda said, “To find the places, we went around looking for important places. It was all about knocking on doors and sticking notes through people’s doors when they were outside.
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“It caused a lot of excitement in the area and we found people very interested in painting original artwork on their homes.
“We estimate the murals will last between five and ten years before they start to fade. So it’s quite a commitment.”
Michelle Griffith is one of the Old Trafford residents who volunteered to be a blank canvas on Ayres Road.
She said, “This is exactly what Old Trafford needs. It will add some color to an otherwise subdued part of Old Trafford.
“I’m very excited about the community engagement and collaboration with and alongside the artists. It brings together factions of the community that are normally inactive.”
The OT Art Trail started in early May. Visit the OT Creative Space website for more information
