A community’s bright future has been celebrated by two colourful murals commissioned by North Shields charity Meadow Well Connected and sponsored by Capita.
Durham-born community mural artist Lewis Hobson created the two murals, which commemorate Meadow Well’s progress during the 30 years since the area’s riots of September 1991.
One mural is on a wall of the charity’s Waterville Road premises and was inspired by a photograph of a thrush taken in its gardens and flowers grown in the gardens by two volunteers.
The other mural is on the back wall of the adjacent BAY Foodbank and displays the word ‘Together’ surrounded by bees gathering nectar. This extra-large mural can be seen by people travelling on the nearby Metro or walking on the recently planted woodland area.
Meadow Well Connected has focused on improving their outdoor spaces to increase the biodiversity and benefit local people with a space which can be enjoyed all year round.
The charity opened in 1994 is a community hub which provides a safe, welcoming space for local people to meet new people and gain new skills through a range of supportive services and opportunities.
Capita has delivered a range of technical services for North Tyneside Council since 2012. In 2018 Capita and Meadow Well Connected entered into a strategic partnership which committed both organisations to a long-term relationship with each other. Capita sponsored the murals to cover the cost of the spray paints and Lewis’ time.
Mandi Cresswell, Chief Officer at Meadow Well Connected, said: “We all love these murals, which have been inspired by our garden volunteers and really brighten up what were otherwise boring walls.
“Lewis has been great to have on site and is working with us to do some graffiti workshops with children, something which wouldn’t have happened without support from Capita.”
Lewis said: “I really enjoyed meeting all the projects based at Meadow Well Connected including the community bee-keeping project Pure Buzzin, the Barn Joinery, BAY Foodbank and the rest of the staff and volunteers in the centre and gardens.
“It was great to see so many community enterprises based in one place working cohesively together.
“As my paintings were so big I had plenty of time to see the effect they were having on people who used the different services day-by-day.
“I'm glad that I could make the space even more colourful and I hope my paintings can raise people's awareness of how amazing this place is, the good that people are doing, as well as how they can get involved.”
Capita Responsible Business Lead Jen Chamley said: “The murals look absolutely amazing.
“The charity’s garden volunteers were full of great ideas for how the murals should look and Lewis has done a fantastic job of bringing those ideas to life. I’m delighted that Capita was able to play a small part in helping to make these murals happen.”
