A graffiti covered wall on a busy Worcester walkway is going to get a vibrant and colourful makeover thanks to work by city students and an internationally renowned local artist.
Rob Draper, who is from Worcester, has been working with art students from the ÃÛÌÒÖ±²¥ to design a special mural celebrating the city’s musical heritage.
It will be painted on the wall between the new Elizabeth Garrett Anderson building (The former Worcester News building) and the Green Self Storage building on the walkway which connects Hylton Road and Hardwicke Close.
Work to create the mural is scheduled to begin around 10th April and will take around 6 days to complete, but this will be weather dependent.
The design, which has a quote by Edward Elgar at its heart, has been a joint project between Rob Draper and the students, and features many elements reflecting the vibrancy of Worcester and the city’s musical heritage.
Artist Rob Draper said: “I hope that the colour palette is uplifting, and that the Edward Elgar quote that is location specific to Worcester has a broad, positive and personal appeal to viewers.”
Rob continued: “When I was asked to be the Creative Director for the project, I was given a guided tour of the amazing facilities of the Art House and met some creative, enthusiastic, dedicated staff and students who made it a very easy decision to get on board!”
He said: “Working with the University students has been effortless. It has been creative and engaging, throwing in ideas, and experimenting, trying different concepts and they’re all committed to making it as good a project as it can be.”
Inclusivity will be a huge part of the project, and a poem, written by one of the students taking part, is being placed in both text and braille at either end of the mural.
It was the idea of student Cosmin Popescu, who said: “Art is something which is predominantly seen with the eyes, but if we can take it to the next level and make it more sensory, society becomes more inclusive.”
He continued: “People who have visual impairments deserve to know that there are artists out there who have them in mind, and that we fight for them to have a stronger connection with art.”
Students from Worcester’s New College will be coming along during the project to get involved and take part in painting, alongside students from Regency High School in Worcester.
Ree Han is the Head of Department for Art and Design Communication. She said: “This wall is neglected but gets a lot of passing traffic, it’s used by students and locals every day.”
She continued: “Rob Draper is a world class artist; his work covers everything from NASA to the Golden Globes and students have been introduced to research and production for this project under his creative direction for the whole process.”
Keep an eye on the ÃÛÌÒÖ±²¥’s social media pages for regular updates on the progress of the mural.