Local residents living in the Soho Ward of Handsworth gathered on Thursday 4thNovember 2010 to celebrate the unveiling of a community sculpture in Waverhill Park.
The contemporary sculpture represents a beacon of local regeneration, which will see Waverhill Park transformed from an underused area into a vibrant community space.
Global Diversty Sculpture
Its design was inspired by the creative input of school children and local residents, following a series of free community workshops in schools and local community centres.
The unveiling was part of a free community event in the park, which included live musical entertainment performed by children from Holyhead School
It is one of eight arts projects taking place across Birmingham and Sandwell as part of the Beyond Bricks community arts scheme being driven and funded by regeneration agency Urban Living in partnership with the Arts Council England, West Midlands.
Working in Partnership
Constructed by Midlands based arts company Planet Art, the steel sculpture is situated at the heart of the park and reflects the cultural diversity of Handsworth.
Beyond Bricks aspires to engage creatively with communities within the Urban Living catchment area, allowing them to collectively celebrate their diversity as a community and find solutions to local issues. This has been made possible by working with neighbourhood managers and a range of other partners including Birmingham City Council and local police.
Chief executive of Urban Living Adnan Saif, who unveiled the 4 foot sculpture, said: “By engaging with local people this scheme has successfully helped to bring communities back to the park.
I commend the leadership of the neighbourhood manager and other partners in helping to transform this once underused area into a vibrant community space.”
Waverhill Park Masterpiece
Cllr Lal and Spence both echoed that “It has been fantastic to see so many local people come together for the unveiling of this iconic sculpture, which we know wouldn’t be possible without their inspiration.
Neighourhood Manager Colin Hanno said that “with the help of the community, we’ll ensure that the park and sculpture is well cared for so future generations can enjoy this open space.”
Mohan Lal Gaddu -Chairperson of Matthew Boulton Forum stated that “this was a great opportunity for the area and was please to see young people involved and taking ownership of the artwork”
Planet Art artist Julie Edwards added: “This sculpture is a testament to the future development of the area. It represents the vision of both the younger generation and local residents and is an honest reflection of their joy.”
Photographs reproduced by kind permission of Urban Living.
