Paintings to decorate Tyne Tunnel hoardings at Jarrow

May 19 2009 by Tony Henderson, The Journal

SCENES from a town’s history will go on show on the site of a major project which will be part of its future.

Hoardings surrounding the construction site of the new Tyne tunnel at Jarrow on South Tyneside will be painted with a mural showing episodes from the past.

Work started yesterday involving young people from the town as part of the Government initiative Find Your Talent (FYT).

FYT aims to introduce young people to cultural activities and is based regionally at the Customs House in South Shields.

The youngsters have worked with Newcastle urban art collective Newline at Bede’s World in Jarrow, with local writer Tom Kelly also involved.

Yesterday the group and Newline were joined by the Brighton-based art collective Heavy Artillery at the Jarrow Riverside Park site. Scenes will include the Venerable Bede, the industrialisation of Jarrow and the Jarrow Crusade.

The artwork will form a mobile exhibition in which the pieces will be relocated to different parts of the site throughout the construction period.

FYT officer Paul Martin said: “We hope the mural acts as a contemporary educational tool which will help young people learn about the history of their town.”

It is hoped that a similar project will be launched in North Tyneside. FYT developed the project in partnership with tunnel operator TT2 Ltd and contractor Bouygues Travaux Publics to give young people the chance to make a contribution to the £260M construction scheme by creating a visible legacy of their own.