Summer INSPIRE Activity at The Liberty

A Romford school boy spotted sketching models at a recent fashion show has inspired The Liberty Shopping Centre to commission a local artist to create a giant mural celebrating the creativity, diversity and vibrancy of the local community.

As part of the centre’s ‘Romford to Rio’ summer activities, residents from across the borough are being encouraged to submit images of things that inspire them – from people or places to treasured objects or motivational words - and share them on the shopping centre’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram channels, using the hashtag #Inspire.

Every image submitted by the Sunday 7th August will be used to inspire the final mural design, which people will be able to see being created live by the artist in the centre between Monday 8th and Friday 12th August. The images will also be used to create a giant ‘Inspire’ collage, which will be situated in the centre at the end of the summer.

The original inspiration for the campaign, Isaac Getachew, 10, a student at Crowlands Primary School in Romford, captured the attention of centre staff and shoppers alike as he expertly sketched designs being modelled at The Liberty’s Fashion Design Competition Catwalk Show in May.

Jonathan Poole, Centre Manager for The Liberty, said: “Seeing Isaac engrossed in capturing all the action at the Fashion Show Weekend for the second year running really got the team thinking about the abundance of talent, passion and creativity in our community.

“We always have a jam-packed calendar of summer activities for our customers to enjoy, but this year we wanted to involve shoppers in collaboratively creating something that both celebrates and inspires the people of the borough.”

Isaac commented: “I love art so I am really happy that The Liberty is making these murals. I always go to the fashion shows as I enjoy drawing the models and their colourful clothes.

“It’s really nice that my drawings have made other people excited about art and I am looking forward to joining in with the activities.”

Isaac’s teachers, Mrs Alicia Argire and Miss Shannon Coard added: Isaac is a hard-working and creative individual who enjoys sharing his artistic talents with his peers and adults across the school.

We’re really proud that his work has inspired The Liberty to celebrate the local community with a commissioned mural and we will certainly be getting involved.”

The summer of art-focused fun will begin on Monday 1st August (until Friday 5th August) when a giant paint-by-numbers mural will be in the centre for children to contribute to. There will also be an arts and crafts station where kids can colour in miniature versions of the paint-by-numbers mural or create images and words to be included on the ‘Inspire’ mural.

Shoppers are also encouraged to come to the centre and watch the community mural being painted live in the centre between Monday 8th and Friday 12th August.

The creative fun will continue with Carnival costume making from Monday 15th until Friday 19th August and dance and music workshops from Monday 22nd – Friday 26th August.

For more information on how to submit your #inspire image and further information on all summer activities, visit www.theliberty.co.uk