Terrific response to Chelmsley art projects

SNAP COLLECTION: Rachel Symonds at Chelmsley Wood Shopping Centre

HUNDREDS of local people got involved in a series of community art projects taking place in Chelmsley Wood town centre earlier this month.
The week-long programme of activities, inside an empty unit on the parade, was organised by the recently set-up B37 Project.
The group of volunteers aim to bring the community together through a range of creative activities.
Among the first salvo of ideas included handing out disposal cameras – a true novelty in the age of the iPhone – and asking people to go out in the local area and take photos. The images were then developed and turned into an anonymous exhibition.
Debbie Gara, from the B37 Project, said: “We’re just a group of people who come together to do something like this and then go back to our day jobs.
“We have had an incredible response from those coming in this week. One of the main things we want to do is support local talent, we want to give a platform to the ideas that people have.”
A number of local artists were helping with the activities; pieces by Ronnie Cashmore adorned one corner of the unit, while Rachel Symonds was co-ordinating the “selfie” project. Her aim was to collate 1,000 photos of local people to put together into a massive mosaic.
“When you look at what’s happening in other parts of Solihull, in London, in Bristol, wherever, there’s no reason why the people in Chelmsley Wood shouldn’t have the same opportunity to express themselves,” she said.
“There’s an energy to art. It can bring out a colour and a character that we don’t always see and I think people enjoy the escapism.”
Buoyed by the success of their “launch” event, B37 Project hope to continue organising other events and are keen to hear from residents with ideas. It is also hoped that the initiative could lay the foundations for more public art around the estate.
You can get in touch with the group via their Facebook page.