Community Open Call for mural ideas
Photograph from Green Meadows Picnic event, September 2021
Today, local climate change charity Nottingham Energy Partnership, together with the community energy group Meadows Ozone Energy Services, launch the Green Meadows, a five-year, £1.5 million National Lottery Climate Action funded project.
With the aim of empowering The Meadows community to take action to tackle climate change, the Green Meadows’ first project will be The Community Mural, designed to creatively involve members of the community from The Meadows and further afield. For this project, the Green Meadows team is inviting you to contribute ideas, drawings, short stories or poems under the theme “Together our planet, together our future”. The submissions can be any size, length, medium or material.
The chosen canvas for the Mural will be an end wall of a terraced home within The Meadows. With the exact location still to be confirmed, the Green Meadows team hopes that the mural will not only brighten up the area for local residents, but also remind them of the Green Meadows presence within the area for the next 5 years. It will act as a reminder of the lasting change the project will have for local people and their relationship with climate change.
“I hope the mural and wider project will be an example to the rest of Nottingham and the UK, especially as we are not an affluent area but we still are actively helping build a better future together.”
Mark, a Meadows resident who is part of the Green Meadows Community Mural working group.
The Green Meadows project will also educate and upskill the community around carbon saving, and support families to access practical and financial support for energy saving home improvements. This is why, before the mural is painted, the Green Meadows team will insulate the external wall of the property, demonstrating just one of the many ways to improve the warmth and comfort of your home.
“The Meadows leads the way on reducing carbon emissions and this mural will spread the word that we all need to work together to keep our planet safe for future generations. I can’t wait to see the result!”
Sally Longford, the Lenton and Wollaton East Ward Councillor and Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder Energy, Environment and Democratic Services.
The Green Meadows team are keen to encourage any Nottingham resident to get involved. You can submit your vision for the Community Mural by the 30th July 2021 – head to greenmeadows.uk to upload your ideas. Alternatively, post a paper version to Green Meadows, Queens Walk Community Centre, Queens Walk, The Meadows, Nottingham, NG2 2DF – if you need a prepaid envelope to send your submission, head to the website to request one to arrive on your doorstep. The team would also love to hear the stories behind your artworks, so please include a few sentences to describe your idea, the process of creating it and your hopes for the future of your local area.
There will also be an opportunity for local artists to get involved – a group of artists will be invited to bring together the residents’ visions in one piece of art, with three artists interpretations being shortlisted by the community vote through a public exhibition, and the final artwork being chosen by a Green Meadows judging panel before being created into the Community Mural. If you’re a local artist, and are interested in this paid opportunity, head to greenmeadows.uk to register your interest.
Alongside the Community Mural, Nottingham residents will soon be able to participle in other projects such as the Retrofit Skills Training which will teach residents low carbon retrofit skills, enabling them to work together to install insulation and other energy saving measures in their own homes. Additionally, the Green Meadows team will soon be visiting The Meadows primary schools and youth clubs, teaching younger people about Climate Change, a topic not adequately covered by the national curriculum.
Keep up to date with the Green Meadows project by heading to greenmeadows.uk