Ladywood Leisure Centre unveils new artwork from inclusive arts and crafts group

The new artwork was developed during a series of sessions run by Soothing Stitches, a community interest company dedicated to bringing quality art, stitch, craft and holistic workshops and projects to different communities in the West Midlands.

With Ladywood Leisure Centre situated near the canal and featuring a swimming pool, the workshop attendees decided something showing water movement and swimming would fit the bill as an appropriate piece of art to celebrate the centre and the region.

Yasmin Hussain, Community Engagement Officer for Birmingham Community Leisure Trust (BCLT), which operates the centre and eight others across the city, said: “We were delighted to offer Soothing Stitches free use of our Community Room for this art project. We knew the theme was water, but had no idea what to expect until the big reveal on unveiling day.

“I can honestly say, the team at Ladywood love this new artistic addition to our reception area! It’s eye catching, fun to look at and has turned a blank wall space into something quite special, for all our customers to enjoy!”

Sally Harper, Artist Director at Soothing Stitches said: “We would like to thank Yasmin and the team at Ladywood Leisure Centre for all their support throughout the project, the participants have really enjoyed using the room at the leisure centre.

“Also, a big thank you to Ladywood Neighbourhood Network Scheme for funding the project, without their funding we wouldn’t be able to offer these much-needed sessions for the local community.

“For this project we worked at Ladywood Leisure Centre to offer participants a new space in which to study water – looking at light, reflection and movement. We worked with different stitch techniques, weaving, and collage and experimented with different fabric and paper surfaces. The project has encompassed colour, texture, shape and form to create a mixed media panel depicting water movement, swimmers and divers.”