YOUNG people in Frome have started creating a nature-themed mural on the hoardings at Wallington Way, transforming the site with the help of local artists and community groups.

They’ve been assisted by artist Mutartis Boswell, along with Shared Earth Learning, Super Roots and Frome Town Council, in a project developed with Redrow estate residents to make the estate entrance more welcoming, with further opportunities for young people to take part.

Alex Hart from Shared Earth Learning said: “Some call it art and some call it graffiti, defined in the Encyclopaedia Britannica as: ‘[a] form of visual communication, usually illegal, involving the unauthorised marking of public space by an individual or group. Graffiti can be understood as antisocial behaviour performed in order to gain attention or as a form of thrill seeking, but it also can be understood as an expressive art form.

“Super Roots and Shared Earth Learning see it very much as a form of expression and wanted to give young people an opportunity to express themselves artistically and legally while also cheering up the hoardings along Wallington Way.

“So, together with Frome Town Council and Mutartis Boswell, we organised a series of creative graffiti art sessions after school, starting with a group visit to Whitewell Park. We think you will be surprised and impressed with the results, which are open 24/7 to view.

“Many thanks to FTC for funding this project and special thanks to Ellen Vellacott of Super Roots CIC for all her amazing energy.”

The project has involved around a dozen young people so far and the groups hope others will feel inspired to contribute to what will become a long-lasting and ongoing artistic project.

For more information about Shared Earth Learning or Super Roots, visit the websites: www.sharedearthlearning.org and super-roots.org