Erdington Tapestries now on permanent display at the library.

ERDINGTON COMMUNITY TAPESTRY

The tapestries on show in the library were made in the early 1990's inspired by an original idea by Geoff Bateson then Adult Education Co-ordinator for Erdington.

To begin with the idea was to use the skills of local people to create a single large panel which would trace the transformation of an almost forgotten Warwickshire village to an industrial suburb of England's second city. After a series of meetings it was decided that seperate panels would be created depicting various aspects of Erdington, past and present.

In the Autumn of 1990 an adult education class was set up at the Osborne Road centre led by tutor Jean Brierly and students were assisted in making tapestries which took their inspiration from a broad range of subjects and themes including:

Buildings - Erdington Hall, Rookery House, Pipe Manor.

Churches - Erdington Methodist Church, Six Ways Baptist Church.

Public Houses - The Green Man (now The Lad in the Lane), The Old Roebuck Inn.

Transport - The No2 Tram which ran along the High Street, a horse drawn bus.

Famous incidents - The mysterious murder of Mary Ashford and a hayrick fire which took place at the end of the 19th century.

Personalities of Erdington - Unsung Heroes - George the Verger, Fred the Postman, Jack the Milkman.

Industry - Local gas appliance manufacturer Valor, fighter planes built at Castle Vale (now Jaguar cars).

Miscellaneous - The Erdington Coat of Arms, a map of rural Erdington and panels depicting soldiers from the Warwickshire regiment.


On completion the tapestries were taken to Josiah Mason College and framed by Design & Technology students. In July 1995 the work was exhibited at Rookery House in an event opened by Robin Corbett MP.

After remaining in storage for some time the tapestries are now on show again and Erdington Library is pleased to host this exhibition of the work of local people which celebrates our town.

See pics below.

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Come on down.

Loads of work to be done. Please pop along and lend a hand if you can.

News

Ikon Gallery
Claudia Losi
Balena Project - Erdington, Birmingham, 2008

For the last 3 years Ikon has been working in Erdington through the City Council’s Arts Champions Scheme. This year, Ikon is working with acclaimed Italian artist, Claudia Losi who will be presenting a 25metre cashmere whale in the centre of Birmingham in Sept / Oct 08. During the lead up to this project, Ikon's Education Team has spent a week working with Losi herself and 85 children from Erdington Hall Primary School who, following a period of creative research produced a series of whale drawings. During August 2008, these drawings will be transformed into a collection of small, fabric whales by a team of creative people in the old Salvation Army Charity Shop – 3 New Street, Erdington. The children will then bring these soft-toys as a gift to the large whale during the Autumn.

We are currently looking for people who’d like to join the project team who will be racing against time to make the small, fabric whales. We can cover basic expenses for those who commit to participating for at least 8 days over the Summer … alternatively, we’d be really pleased to see people who’d just like to pop in for an hour or two and spend a friendly, informal afternoon sewing.

Opening Times:
Tuesday – Saturday, 11am – 3pm
Admission is free


From 24 September to 16 November 2008, Italian artist Claudia Losi will exhibit Balena, a 25metre cashmere whale in Birmingham – watch this space for location and opening times …

For more information about Ikon, please visit http://www.ikon-gallery.co.uk/ or call 0121 248 0708