Child's Hill Walk Art Project
5
The Pitch
Problem statement
The Child’s Hill area has a significant level of deprivation; Child’s Hill Food Bank, has seen an increase in need from 15 households per week to 40 households per week. In spite of significant wealth locally, it is recognised as in the top third of most deprived parishes in England. Located at the centre of the local area, Child's Hill Walk links the housing estates of Granville Road and the Longberrys with All Saints Primary school, Jack and Jill Nursery, All Saints Church, Child’s Hill Food Bank, Hampstead Heath and residents to the North. During an event in 2019 many said they felt unsafe on the path alone. Issues of anti-social behaviour, and drugs have led to regular police patrols.
Solution
We are proposing to hold a 2 day art workshop to create a mural on the retaining wall running along the side of Child’s Hill Walk. There would be a pre-workshop in the school and a community gardening day after the artwork was complete. The event will draw together the community from all parts of Child’s Hill. The artwork will express ownership by local residents, demonstrate the history of Child’s Hill, improve the way people see this location, and encourage a pride in our shared environment and history, which should discourage fly-tipping, graffiti and anti-social behaviours. The artwork will also create space for future additions so the story can continue to be added to by the community.
Why are we best placed to deliver?
This project has been conceived and developed by a group including local residents, local councillors, All Saints School and All Saints Church. The group’s main aims were to make the path safe and inviting to those who used it, to bring together the community bridged by this path and to make it a more welcoming approach to school, church and nursery. The art project would be run by local resident and artist Kevin Keating, who has an impressive record of artwork in the public domain including a number of well received installations locally. He ran the Oaklands Passage art project which demonstrated the positive impact art can have on the local community.
Focus Areas
Delivery plan
Budget breakdown
| Cleaning of Wall | £200 |
| Preparation of Wall by artist before workshop | £500 |
| Painting Equipment (brushes, rollers, dust sheets, rain protection, etc.) | £300 |
| 1 day school workshop with artist | £300 |
| 2 day public artist workshop | £600 |
| 2 days for artist to complete the work | £600 |
| Plants for planting along the bottom of the wall during gardening day | £500 |
| Refreshments from local shops and cafes during the workshops | £100 |
| Contingency | £100 |
Beneficiaries
600 people
Expected impact
The result of the project will be both in the experience of the workshops themselves and in the lasting record of the artwork. The workshops will build connections between local resident across this very diverse neighbourhood. There will be a greater understanding of our shared heritage as we learn more about the history of Child's Hill from the forming of this village between Hendon and Hampstead around the waters used for the laundries. This knowledge and understanding will then be shared through the artwork itself, along with a greater sense of ownership and a part to play in this story. The intention is that the art work will create space for future developments and additions as we continue to tell the story of Child’s Hill for years to come. The social impact should discourage fly-tipping, graffiti and other anti-social behaviours, making it a more welcoming space for all those who use the path.
Track record
Previously funding helped us tidy up this path, removing overgrown bushes and edging the verge itself, and restoring the gully for rain water drainage. Families and staff at the local school and nursery have highlighted how thankful they are to have the space to pass one another and how much safer they now feel on Child's Hill Walk. The work has also encouraged others locally to take initiative in improving the public space around the path, planting in Church Walk and on Prospect Place. All Saints Church has a proven track record of delivering projects locally in partnership with others. Starting Child's Hill Food Bank, restoring the Child's Hill War Memorial thanks to council funding which the Bishop of Edmonton recently re-dedicated with the Deputy-Lieutenant applauding the work done. Kevin Keating's track record of local work speaks for itself. He has developed, through workshops various well received public artwork.