|
Creative Aldershot children have helped to put health at the heart of their community with an art project that has brightened up one of the town’s biggest construction sites.
The hoardings at the Aldershot Centre for Health site on Hospital Hill were unveiled by developers The Wilky Group this week to reveal a colourful surprise – a giant mural created by students from local schools.
The Wilky Group, which along with main contractors Alfred McAlpine is developing the centre for Hampshire Primary Care Trust and the Ministry of Defence, had invited schools in Rushmoor to treat the hoardings as a huge blank canvas. In an initiative supporting the Government’s ‘Every Child Matters’ campaign, which teams up organisations including schools and health trusts to work together for the welfare of young people, the students were asked to submit paintings and drawings on the theme of ‘keeping healthy in Aldershot’.
Several schools took up the offer to showcase their creative talent, including The Connaught School, The Wavell School, St. Michael’s C of E Infant School, St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary, Marlborough County Infant School, Talavera County Infant and Junior Schools and Beaumont County Infant School. At Connaught, Year 10 graphics students collated the artwork under the direction of Head of Art Youli Hamblin. Each participating school received a contribution of £100 for its art budget from The Wilky Group.
With the help of local graphics company Reade Signs Limited, the illustrations – some of which depict services to be based in the centre - were then reproduced on the hoardings in a vast mural. The mural also includes a giant computer generated image of the building, which was designed by SR Architects of Bath.
Youli Hamblin said: “We are very proud of the children’s achievement and feel that they benefited greatly from taking part in this high profile project which made them think about health issues, gave them a sense of ownership of the new centre and motivated them to demonstrate their creative talent. The older children also had the chance to work alongside the professional graphic designers at Reade Signs which gave them valuable insight and experience.”
Speaking at the unveiling of the hoardings, Wilky Group chief executive Malcolm Young said: “The students have used great imagination in creating artwork which has been integrated into a vibrant, eye-catching mural. The project also successfully got young people in the community involved in their new health centre even before it is built.”
The Aldershot Centre for Health, expected to be complete by early 2008, will be the UK’s largest ‘one stop’ primary health care centre. It will provide front line healthcare for about 45,000 local people, as well as specialist services for around 250,000 others from the surrounding area. It will include three GP practices, state-of-the-art diagnostic and outpatient facilities, specialist children’s services, physiotherapy, podiatry, a community mental health team, dentistry and Army medical services, including a 20-bed unit.
|
