Recently, we were commissioned by Rushmoor Borough Council to create to canvases with communities celebrating 50 years of the borough. We worked with Visual Artist Bhajan Hunjan, welcoming the local communities to contribute. The end result has been turned into a huge display at Farnborough town centre for many people to enjoy.
We are now in the process of having the maps copied onto vinyl to be displayed in Farnborough and Aldershot, and they will also be hung as part of a display celebrating Rushmoor’s 50th anniversary.
“The mayor of Rushmoor has seen the maps and is absolutely delighted with them.”
Here, Bhajan shares more details about the project:
“For Rushmoor Borough Council with Kala the Arts, the Mapping Project, created artistic maps of the town centres of Aldershot and Farnborough, to bring in an element that engaged people and reflected their connection to the local environment.
The aim of the Mapping Project with Kala the Arts was to engage local people in an artistic project that encouraged participants to connect with their local environment using simple artistic technique of drawing on painted canvas. The workshop was carried out in Aldershot on Victoria day and in Farnborough on a Saturday being a market day.
Participants were encouraged to draw in the landmarks that they were familiar with and had personal connections with. These could be their homes, schools, community centres, religious and other buildings of relevance, including local parks, football clubs, libraries, supermarkets, shops, swimming pools and other amenities. It was also important to reflect the airfield, military and commercial connections that the local residents have with their environment.
We carried out the first workshop in Aldershot with a map that also covered Farnborough. The original idea was to carry on with the same art work and develop it over the two workshops. Due to the enthusiasm and participation the first map was totally filled with the artwork and left very little room for further additions and involvement. Thus a second background was created on canvas which solely covered Farnborough.
As the project in Aldershot was on Victory day, we had many visitors that were curious about the work produced. There was a constant buzz around the activities, and we had input from local visitors who had lived in the area all their lives and newly arrived.
A pre-prepared background was created with basic features like the roads, railways and green spaces, on which the participants were encouraged to add their own personal marks, using fabric pens and pastels. These were art techniques that could engage people of all ages, families and children.
During the making of the maps there were interesting conversations running parallel to practical work with people. Stories were told about their connections to the local landscape, how long had they lived in the area and personal relevance of architectural and natural features to their lives. People also were able to talk about the architectural features which were no longer there and their thoughts about the new local housing projects in
Farnborough.”
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