Mural is a hit with home residents

The project has been a collaboration between the art department at Shrewsbury School, Sabrina House Care Home and Creative Inspiration Shropshire, a social venture established in 2014 by Dr Jane Povey to provide participatory creative arts programmes for vulnerable and isolated people in the local community.

Shrewsbury School’s head of art, Rose Shawe-Taylor, said: “I had been wanting to do some activity with Shrewsbury School students which takes art into the community, and Dr Povey’s initiative proved to be the perfect opportunity. The planning stage was the difficult part; how to incorporate a diverse range of memories into a coherent whole. Then one of our students came up with the idea of a series of windows, rather like an advent calendar, and after that the design was straightforward.

“Part of the fun was hearing the residents talk about their memories – from racing pigeons to driving a double-decker bus, and chatting to the lovely staff who made us endless cups of tea. ”

“Being a part of this life-changing experience was not only a privilege but it was also an honour to give back to the community,” said Lower Sixth Former Nifemi Runsewe.

“Socialising with the elderly and the carers at Sabrina House was a key aspect of painting the mural. Not only were we able to ask the elderly people at the care home what memory of theirs they would like us to reflect on the mural, but we also got to know a bit more about them and their lives. So we were able to create a mural that was done with love, as art is the moment where work meets love.

“The mural also brought us students a lot closer together. This project enabled me to feel a part of something a lot bigger than an average school project, whilst making friends I am sure to keep for years to come.

“At the end of the day, seeing the smiles on the faces of the elderly as they recognised which painting was dedicated to them was the icing on the cake because happiness is not from what we get, but what we give.”

The mural project forms part of a wider collaborative programme between Shrewsbury School, Creative Inspiration Shropshire and care homes in Shrewsbury that has included concerts, sing-alongs and a hugely successful afternoon tea party for guests from Sabrina House and Swan Hill care homes, held at Shrewsbury School in the spring.

"Creative Inspiration Shropshire has greatly valued the contribution the Shrewsbury School students have made this year in enriching the lives of residents and staff at local care homes,” said Dr Povey. “The beautiful mural at Sabrina House marks the end of a fantastic first year of collaborative work with musicians, artists and chefs from the school.”