Pupils join artist to put art and soul into vibrant mural on side of their school

SCHOOLCHILDREN teamed up with a community artist to create a vibrant mural on the gable end of their school building.

Year 2 pupils from Brigg Infant School, in South Normanton, worked with local artist Lucie Maycock to create the eye-catching artwork.

As the school backs onto the village’s South Street Recreation Ground, the whole community can enjoy the colourful creation.

It features elements of nature, including a fox, leaves inspired by the local area and a ladybird whose dots are the fingerprints of all 40 youngsters involved in bringing the design to life.

If they look closely enough, eagle-eyed art lovers may even spot a rubber duck, which has been carefully hidden in the piece, following input from pupils.

Lucie worked with the youngsters through a series of workshops, starting back in March, and she captured their ideas, designs and love of wildlife in the final piece, which was painted from June to July.

Families of the children also had a say in its creation, attending community engagement events at the village’s Post Mill Centre.

Lucie was commissioned by Junction Arts, a charity that aims to create brighter futures through the arts, and worked with fellow artist Dave Elsom on the project.

She said: “I love working with children and young people – they’ve got the best ideas. They always come up with such unique perspectives.

“One of my favourite parts of being an artist is taking those ideas and making it into a real piece of artwork, and it’s really nice to see them involved.

“It’s been a pleasure to work in South Normanton – everyone has been so supportive.”

The mural project was supported by South Normanton Parish Council, which identified funding for the scheme from Section 106 money paid to local planning authority, Bolsover District Council, from the developers of the nearby Thornhill Drive development.

The project was brought together by Junction Arts, alongside South Normanton Parish Council, Bolsover District Council, the EMBARK Federation Trust, which runs Brigg Infant School, and Derbyshire County Council.

Alison Spencer, Brigg Infant School headteacher, said: “We are so proud of our Year 2s for all the energy and creative ideas they brought to the brand-new mural on South Street Recreation Ground.

“We love giving our children a real say in how their local environment looks, and seeing their brilliant ideas turned into a full-scale mural has been fantastic. The mural looks incredible, but the best part is knowing how proud the children will be every time they walk past something they helped create.”

Jenny Babenko, project co-ordinator at Junction Arts, added: “It’s been an absolute pleasure working with the children from Brigg Infant School and the wider South Normanton community to create the mural on South Street Recreation Ground.

“We’ve really enjoyed hearing what’s important to them and what they wanted to celebrate about their village. The mural has been rooted in the young people’s ideas, is playful in spirit and celebrates the nature that can be found on the park.”

Councillor Emma Stevenson, a local parish and district councillor involved in the project, said: “What a fantastic project not only for the youngsters to be involved with, but also for the local area.

“It’s a fabulous new addition to the recreation ground and hopefully will help instil pride in the area for years to come. As a parish council, we were delighted to inform the district council in identifying where best this funding should be directed.”