Brand new South Shields park mural showcases artwork from more than 40 schoolchildren
A local animator has partnered with more than 40 schoolchildren to create a mural in a South Shields park.
A brand new mural has been created in South Shields’ Readhead Park thanks to help from a renowned animator and 46 primary school children.
Pupils at Mortimer Primary School designed individual pieces of art to show what the park means to them before South Shields artist Sheila Graber pieced them together for the colourful mural.
Sheila, who was behind the animation of the TV series Paddington, sketched out the mural on the side of The Little Hut in the Park, which the Friends of Readhead Park have been working to refurbish over the course of the last few years.
Some of the children from Mortimer Primary were also invited along to help Sheila paint the artwork.
‘A fantastic idea’
Glenn Thompson, Chair of Friends of Readhead Park and Harton Cemetery, has given an insight into the process of creating the mural and how the children at Mortimer Primary got involved.
He said: “Over the last couple of years, we’ve spent a fortune on refurbishing that building in Readhead Park thanks to big donors and some help from the council.
“Since we set the groups up in 2019, Sheila has been getting more and more involved in a variety of different ways.
“Then when the building was finished, she asked if she could create a mural - which we thought was a fantastic idea.
“One of our members is a governor for Mortimer Primary School, who we have a good relationship with, so we went to them and asked if they could get artwork from the pupils showing what they love about the park.
“We then gave the artwork to Sheila and she’s managed to fit them all fantastically into the mural.”
‘The mural says so much’
Glenn also revealed that he hopes the mural will encourage visitors to Readhead Park, which in turn could allow the volunteers to continue making improvements.
He added: “The mural says so much if you look closely at it because it represents Mortimer Primary School’s involvement with the park, which I think is hugely important.
“But on a more simplistic level, it will catch the eye of anyone driving up Cemetery Approach and they might come and have a closer look.
“Then when they are having a closer look, they might buy a coffee which then adds to the profits our group and every single bit of those profits goes back into developing and improving the park.
“The mural wasn’t intended to be bright but I’m glad that it is.”
How you can help the Friends of Readhead Park
The Friends of Readhead Park are always on the look out for new volunteers, especially to help them run The Little Hut in the Park.
Members of the public are invited to come along and take part in the free event, which includes live entertainment, local vendors hosting stalls, children’s activities, and refreshments.
You can find out more about the event and how to become a volunteer by visiting: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FriendsofReadheadPark.