New £5,000 art project for Hayfield underpass completed
Artists who worked on a new £5,000 project to improve Hayfield underpass say they are ‘delighted’ with the results.
Giving the underpass in hayfield a makeover has been a plan 18 months in the making and started after artist Susan McCall was talking to councillor Jill Scott about how dismal and unwelcoming the entrance to the town was.
Susan said painting the underpass would not work as the paint would flake off and would not last very long but 20 years ago she had done a ceramic mural in Manchester where the pattern is glazed into the tiles and they still look just as fresh and new.
She said: “Things sort of snowballed and there were meetings with High Peak Borough Council and Derbyshire County Council and it became a reality.” Hayfield, which has many artists living there came together to work on the project.
Children at the nearby schools were also consulted and asked what makes the area special.
Susan said: “Due to the weep holes from the road we couldn’t have one big panel but then we started thinking about new ways and I’m so pleased with how it turned out.”
The underpass has been separated into four panels; nature, industry, landscape and village.
Kinder Plateau and the river are present in all the murals linking the work together and the edges are calico to reflect the importance of the calico printing to the area.
The work took place earlier in the month and was the work of a collective group of artists and cost £5,000 to make and install.
The money came from a High Peak Borough Council arts and culture grant and Hayfield Civic Trust.
The new art work underpass has been officially opened and Susan said: “We have had so much positive feedback, everyone is saying what a difference it has made and how much better the entrance to the town looks which was all we ever wanted.
“I’m really pleased the people of Hayfield have got behind this project and it has become a reality and will be a lasting legacy for future generations of Hayfield.”