THE CANAL and River Trust has been working to create stunning artwork along the Coventry Canal as it adds to its West Midlands-wide street art trail.
The waterways and well-being charity have been supported by the People’s Postcode Lottery to create the new pieces, which take inspiration from the local community and its links with the canal.
Coventry’s latest masterpiece is part of a national street art trail that enlists the help of local artists and community groups to transform spaces alongside canals in England and Wales.
The Coventry canal art celebrates the city’s link to the cottage weaving industry and was installed by street art organisation BRINK Arts, with Foleshill school children helping with the design.
It aims to encourage Coventrians to visit the canal while telling the stories of different communities who live alongside it.
Jon Horsfall, interim director for the West Midlands at Canal and River Trust, said: “Having these bright, fun murals along our waterways encourages people to come and visit and see for themselves why canals are special and feel the well-being benefits of spending time by the water.
“Our canals are enjoying a second golden age, used by more people and in more ways than the great Georgian canal engineers could ever have imagined.
“Our 250-year-old network brings much-loved wildlife into the heart of the diverse communities it runs through and is the vital green space used by millions of people in our towns and cities.
“It has an important role to play in the decades ahead, for the well-being of communities, protecting biodiversity and mitigating the effects of a changing climate.”
He also urged the government, partners and the community to help the charity raise the cash needed to care for the canals to ensure they ‘don’t fall back into the dark days of dereliction and decline that was the story of the early and mid-20th century.’
Visit www.canalrivertrust.org.uk for more information on the Canal & River Trust and how to volunteer or donate money.
