Youngsters mine heritage for mural
Champion artwork celebrates the land of the leek. Tony Henderson reports.
Leek shows were one of the highlights of the year in mining communities throughout the North East.
Pitmen who spent their working lives underground enjoyed the contrast as they nurtured their prize competition leeks in the open air of allotments and gardens.
Every grower strived to raise the biggest leek - and a new artwork is the stuff of their dreams.
Durham County Council’s Youth Council has been working with spray paint artist Lewis Hobson to create a giant leek as a symbol of mining heritage in Stanley in County Durham.
The council, which consists of young people aged 11 to 19 who provide a voice for their peers, was inspired by Lewis’s work during a visit to Spennymoor Art Festival last year.
They decided they wanted to create a piece of art for a community in the county and put a request out for an outdoor space they could use.
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Their call was answered by East Stanley Working Men’s Club which agreed for the side of its building to be used for the project.
The youth council enlisted the help of young people from North Durham Academy and took part in a series of workshops led by Lewis, where they gave spray painting a go for themselves and discussed the difference between public art and illegal graffiti.
During their final workshop, the young people learned more about the club’s leek show.
The group hopes the project will inspire youngsters to grow for a junior division, which will be developed for next year’s show.
Coun. Ted Henderson, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for children and young people’s services, said: “I am incredibly proud of our youth council and the dedication and organisation they have shown in putting together this project and delivering it for Stanley.
“This project is a brilliant example of the contribution young people make and how, by bringing residents and organisations together, we can create things that are truly meaningful for the community and the people that live in it.”
The youth council are hoping to continue their project and create a new piece of art in a different area of County Durham next year, involving another group of young people.