A new mural by local artist Megan Menzies has been unveiled to brighten up hoardings on nearby Daleham Gardens where a council redevelopment project is taking place.
The mural, which showcases local resident’s dreams, features contributions from pupils at Gloucester House. Pupils worked with Megan during a workshop at our school where she was able to collect pupil’s dreams for the mural along with other contributions from residents and people who passed a ‘dream post box’ where they could submit their own.
Megan said “the piece is all about dreams. Both the dreams we have when we are asleep and the dreams and hopes we have when we are awake; for ourselves, for others for the world!
“Some pupils expressed the dreams they had for their future: what they wanted to be when they grew up; a footballer or a scientist (inventing a time machine!) and others recalled dreams they remembered from their sleep. These ‘sleep dreams’ were very individual and specific and encouraged the pupils to be quite imaginative and creative in their descriptions and drawings. I wanted to show both of these approaches to thinking about dreams in the artwork. It was a pleasure to work with the pupils at Gloucester house school, as well as other children and adults in the local community who contributed their dreams. I saw the whole project as a collaboration between myself, the school and the local community.”
Kirsty Brant, the Head of Service and Clinical Lead for Gloucester House said; “We are delighted to have been involved in this wonderful community project. Gloucester House is an important part of the Daleham and Belsize community and our children make a unique and valuable contribution. In the past many of the children at Gloucester House have not had an equal opportunity to be included. We welcome this approach of inclusivity and the recognition that all children have talents and aspiration and they have much to offer to their communities. The children have been so enthused by seeing their hopes, dreams and ideas creatively brought to life. “
After seeing their contributions in the mural, pupils expressed their pleasure at being able to contribute to the local artwork, with one pupil pointing out their plane to a local construction worker. Other pupil’s thought the mural “[is] good, majestic“, with another saying it makes them “feel special that my ideas are in it“.
Megan Menzies is a local artist. She studied at the Royal College of Art. Her practice involves drawing, painting, and writing to explore memory, personal experience and storytelling. She was commissioned by Camden Council and NW3 community Land Trust to produce this artwork.