Local Children Express their Hopes for Altrincham in New Artwork
A new map of Altrincham, created by Dave Draws and inspired by local school children,has been unveiled this week and it includes a tree farm, a fun fair and an alpaca zoo!
The artwork is a doodle map of Altrincham and includes all the familiar landmarks you’d expect; such as the Clock Tower, the Market and Old Market Place. But there are also some imaginative buildings and locations that were dreamed up by year-five pupils at Altrincham C of E Primary School, St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School, Stamford Park Primary School and Navigation Road Primary School.
Fun additions to the town centre include a zoo, an outdoor swimming pool, a rock climbing centre, a dog museum and a table tennis park! But the children also considered the environment and the community, with ideas such as an electric car station, a science club and a cafe for the homeless.
The giant three-metre by ten-metre map, on George Street, took three days to draw and is now complete for residents, workers and visitors to view. It contains over 30 well-known buildings as well as 17 new items for art lovers to spot.
The new artwork is part of Trafford Council’s #BrightFutures project, an exciting new community arts initiative for Altrincham’s Grafton Quarter. Over 180 school children took part in workshops with doodle expert Dave Draws last month, where they were encouraged to get creative, draw and share their hopes for the future of Altrincham.
Dave Draws lives in Manchester but he has travelled the world creating large-scale murals in Hong Kong, the US and across Europe. He is famous for his doodle maps that include cartoonish illustrations to create a map of towns and cities.
Trafford Council has previously announced that it is continuing its investment in Altrincham town centre with several public realm improvements to enhance the look and feel of the town centre to benefit residents, businesses and attract more visitors. Works are being completed along George Street, including ground resurfacing, green infrastructure and increased seating areas.
#BrightFutures will further enliven the space around the old Grafton Centre with newly commissioned, large-scale pieces of public art. In addition to Dave Draws’ futuristic map on George Street, there will also be two further colourful installations by artist Caroline Dowsett this summer.
Dave said:
“Altrincham is already a great place to live and work, with plenty of shops, restaurants and entertainment in the town centre. So, the children had to think really hard about what would improve the area and what they would like to see in the future. During our workshops, they came up with a diverse range of thoughts and ideas and I am pleased that I could include a good mix of fun, crazy and thoughtful ideas into this new artwork.”
The #BrightFutures project is also supported by Altrincham BID and Visit Altrincham. Mandy White, BID Manager said: “It’s been very exciting to watch the progress of this project, from the school workshops to seeing the final design. We love all the imaginative ideas that the children suggested, we especially like some of the community and environmental suggestions. The artwork is a fantastic addition to this part of the town and we’d encourage visitors and the community to come and have a look!”
For more information about BrightFutures visit: www.thegraftonquarter.co.uk
Follow: @visitaltrincham
