Spiders and beetles will be joining the free art trail along the Stratford Road in Shirley, thanks to funding from the UK government to further improve the High Street.
Designed to inspire and educate nursery and infant children, the utility box art trail has proved popular with the local community, bringing colour to the street and deterring graffiti.
Working with the Shirley Ambassador Group, the council’s Visit Solihull team was given UK government funding to further improve the area and decided to extend the trail. Following a competitive procurement process, Pickle Illustration – who created the first six designs in 2022 – were selected to produce three more designs. The artists engaged with local residents to find out what they wanted featured in the trail and then followed up with designs based on spiders, beetles, snowdrops, cherry blossom and roses - which celebrate the newly opened rose garden in Shirley Park.
Councillor Karen Grinsell, Deputy Leader of Solihull Council and Chair of Shirley Ambassador Group, said: “Two years ago we commissioned Pickle Illustration to turn six dull utility boxes into pieces of public art to brighten up Shirley’s high street and support local businesses.
“It’s clear from the feedback that we’ve had that the local community love these stunning designs. Using additional government money specifically set aside for these sorts of projects I’m delighted that we’ve been able to extend the trail with more of Lauren and Liv’s beautiful work.”
Any local businesses that would like to help form and shape future projects in the area, should contact business@solihull.gov.uk to join Shirley Ambassadors Group.
To find out more about Pickle Illustration visit www.pickleillustration.com