Sign of the times – children's colourful creativity takes over landmarks

A 25-metre Hollywood hills-style sign sits at the top of Rother Valley Country Park spelling out 'You’re Not From New York, You’re From Rov’rum' in homage to the famous lyrics by Sheffield band Arctic Monkeys, a disused band stand at Rosehill Park has been transformed into a vibrant outdoor art gallery full of geometric shapes, and an immersive art walkway with hanging tree trinkets has been installed at Kimberworth Park.

The eye-catching celebratory new artworks have been developed by young people from local schools and youth groups in partnership with creative collective, Art Of Protest in a bid to give young people a sense of pride in their home town during the landmark year for the borough.

Cllr David Sheppard, deputy leader and cabinet member for social inclusion and neighbourhood working at Rotherham Council, said: “We’re kicking off a huge year of creativity and colour in Rotherham with these fantastic pieces of land art taking over our parks and green spaces.

“They are part of a jam-packed programme of events and activities designed by our young people for our festival year, which we hope everyone enjoys and gets involved with.”

Aston Youth Group helped design the installation at Rother Valley Country Park, eight- and nine-year-olds from Rawmarsh Ashwood Primary School informed the concept for the interactive bandstand at Rosehill Park, while neuro-divergent young adults from Kimberworth Park Community Partnership helped bring the installation of tree trinkets for Kimberworth Park to life.

Jeff Clark, founder and creative director of Art Of Protest , added: “Rotherham’s children and young people had a lot of input into what these pieces of land art should be in their borough.

“We held various workshops to get them talking about different themes and playing with colour and shapes, which informed the brief for our artists.

“The result is some amazing pieces of collaborative land art for all to enjoy around Rotherham. We overcame various challenges during installation including gale force winds, freezing temperatures, snow and ice, but we’re over the moon with the end results!

“The overarching designs are all very different with their own individual flavour, but include common themes of geometric shapes, hopeful images of nature and the Children’s Capital of Culture striking black and yellow colour palette.”

Each piece has a QR code so visitors can learn more about how the installations have been created.

The Children’s Capital of Culture concept came about because of an idea that its children and young people had in 2017.

Since then, they have been supported to make their ambition a reality by a wide network of partners and funders, creating a programme of events and activities designed by young people, for everyone.

To find out more about this project and other Children’s Capital of Culture events and activities coming up, visit the website www.childrenscapitalofculture.co.uk.