Hobmoor Community Champions

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We have been working with Hobmoor Community Centre, in Yardley and we are celebrating the centres first few successful months by unveling a piece of artwork made by members of its community. We launched Hobmoor Communnity Centre in November 2015 with a week of arts activities for the local community . Since then Over 200 people access the centre every week.

During a week of free taster events, members of the community were invited to discuss the future direction of their community centre. Working with artist Nicola Richardson, these views were translated into a Batik silk painting. In this technique, selected areas of cloth are blocked out by brushing or drawing hot wax over them. The cloth is then dyed. The parts covered in wax resist the dye and remain the original colour. The process of waxing and dyeing can be repeated to create more elaborate and colourful designs.

The centre of the piece shows a tree, representing Yardley’s main shopping area, the Yew Tree, where a prominent tree once stood. Yew is a tree which regenerates, and in the piece, the leaves show new growth featuring Oasis Academy Hobmoor’s 9 Habits, based on the Oasis ethos (compassion, patient, humble, joyful, honest, hopeful, considerate, forgiving and self-controlled.) Also featured, are prominent buildings in Yardley – St. Edburgha’s Church and Blakesley Hall, one of the oldest buildings in Birmingham.

The piece was unveiled at the community centre in an event with the artists, local residents, as well as representatives from Birmingham City Council.

Launching the batik artwork at Hobmoor Community Centre, in Yardley

Launching the batik artwork at Hobmoor Community Centre, in Yardley