A COVENTRY litter campaigner and a street artist have begun to transform one of the city’s dullest and dirtiest walkways.
Emma Aspinall and her team of schoolchildren have begun creating a 10-metre long mural dedicated to the city’s industrial history.
Emma is a community organiser and an official Keep Britain Tidy litter ambassador for Coventry.
She has been clearing up fly-tipping and rubbish in a walkway connecting Gosford Park Primary School and Humber Avenue near the city centre.
She wants to discourage anyone else from dropping litter or leaving waste by creating the mural and making the alley more attractive.
The street art will depict Coventry’s workers and their vital role in the car industry and the city’s post-war reconstruction.
The first design is a welder and the second will be a grinder – giving the wall the look of an assembly line.
After an appeal to raise £2,000 to cover the cost of the artwork and the clean-up, the transformation began last week.
She is being helped by professional street artist Michael Bachelor – also known as Dynamick – and urban culture group, Reflection Coventry.
Dynamick is known for his bold, colourful and thought-provoking designs and he will create the mural with the help of Gosford Park Primary School children.
The walkway is flanked on each side by industrial units and dull concrete walls which will act as the blank canvas.
Emma said: “I walk the alleyway to take my children to school. It was like a rubbish tip. Plagued with litter and fly tipping. Along with anti-social behaviour.
“Last year I organised a community led clean up involving the school, councillors, local police and the local community.
“This led to people involved taking pride in the alleyway. Now it mainly stays much cleaner.
“I want to get a mural painted and hopefully give the alleyway a complete transformation for all the residents and school children.”
Reflection Coventry is a group dedicated to showcasing youth culture and it has praised Emma for her activity in her local community.
It has helped to organise a two-day workshop at the school which will equip children with the ability to design their own street art stencils and help Dynamick.
She wants the project to be completed by the end of the next school year.
She still needs to raise £300 to complete the project and will be applying to UK City of Culture Trust’s Get Ready Fund – which awards grants to local culture groups.
The majority of the money raised so far has come from the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, David Jamieson’s, Active Citizens Fund.
It awards grants to groups undertaking community work in the region.
Emma was invited to the House of Commons to celebrate her work in the city in spring this year
