What more appropriate way to recognise ‘This is Shropshire’ than a mural of a hundred and fifty-six individual squares, each of which is a separate piece of art in itself, representing a different story or a different location within the county. Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings (SFM) had previously commissioned local artist Sarah Evans to make an original 4m by 1.1m artwork as a triptych of three panels supported on two easels. There is now a weatherproof reproduction on display outdoors in the grounds of the buildings which is located in the Ditherington suburb of Shrewsbury.
The main mill at Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings is a landmark in the history of construction. The first multi-floored building in the world (a veritable sky scraper in its day) with a structural frame of iron makes it the ancestor of all iron and steel-framed buildings. It was opened in around 1800 to spin fibre from flax plants into thread for making linen cloth and operated as a spinning business for almost ninety years. After it closed, the site was adapted as a maltings, where hops were processed to make malt for beer. The maltings closed in 1987 and, after falling into disrepair, the buildings were eventually rescued, repaired and restored by Historic England, with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
As can sometimes be the case with museums, galleries and heritage, the challenge is to encourage people to come through the doors to experience the enjoyment and excitement of the exhibits. The rationale behind SFM’s application for a Vibrant Shropshire Commission was to use the mosaic as the vehicle to achieve three objectives. Firstly, to bring people from the surrounding suburbs, who were not frequent visitors, into the building, often for the first time. Secondly, to enable locals to learn more about their immediate area and wider county and thirdly, to create an environment where families could spend quality time together to have fun and be creative. To inform families about the opportunities available to them, over four hundred properties in the neighbourhood received a welcome flier through their door.
‘Beyond the Mosaic’ comprised a series of workshops in art, music, drama and story telling for families in the area to explore their heritage. A different square was selected for each of the eight workshops with twenty free places available to local residents to attend in family groups. Professional artists and musicians facilitated the proceedings. Taking their chosen square as the starting point, participants were led through writing their own song, story, picture or playlet, the culmination being two Celebration Events held in August and October attended by over four hundred people.
The project were captured by a local videographer and can be viewed here.
To continue with the success of the Vibrant Shropshire commission, SFM is seeking to repeat the experience in coming months.
