POCKET GARDEN: MORLEY MURAL

About

Morley College for Adult Education marks and celebrates Adult Learners' Week 2011 by creating a vibrant, communal mural to be located on the 46 metres of railings that front the College on Westminster Bridge Road. The mural will transform the exterior of the college into a pictorial garden meadow, brimming with life and colour. The mural will represent a visible expression of what goes on behind Morley's doors — a vivid showcase for all the skills and qualities which the college promotes and enshrines — as well as an exciting participatory project for the local community. Inspired by both the beautiful ‘pocket garden', wonderfully maintained by guerrilla gardeners on the traffic island opposite the college's main entrance, and by the ‘secret garden' to the rear of the Nancy Seear Building , the mural will create another verdant, organic haven in this most urban of locations. Accessible to all, the project invites contributions from the local community and utilises the skills and specialisms from across the college's various departments, this will be an all-inclusive project, using drawing, painting, collage, etc, to depict natural forms of flora and vegetation, the imagery accumulating to create an eye-catching, artistic meadow or ‘pocket garden'. While the project will embrace many of the creative subjects taught at Morley (everything from drawing to textiles), it will also be accessible to all, encouraging participation from both skilled practitioner and willing amateur alike; the rendering of plant life lends itself to this; after all, just about anyone can draw a blade of grass! The project will be launched between 13.00hrs and 15.00 hrs on Sunday 15 May during the Family Fun Day to be held at Morley on that day. Workshops will then be held from Monday 16 to Thursday 19 May from 12 noon until 5pm. Within this time frame groups, classes, schools, local organisations and businesses will be able to book themselves in to a session that suits them — please contact morley gallery etc Spontaneous involvement will also be encouraged throughout the week; students, tutors and passers-by will be invited to engage with and add to the mural.