THE MURAL in Droitwich Town Centre has now been taken down so it can be restored to its former glory.
The piece in St Andrews Square shopping centre was commissioned by the town council and was created by artist Philippa Threlfall in 1975.
The last four decades have taken their toll and last Thursday Philippa and her son Daniel Collings returned to the town to take down the mural for the restoration.
Droitwich Arts Network (DAN), which has taken temporary ownership of the piece, has launched an appeal to find artists to fill the space while the piece is being repaired.
The overall size of the gap is 3.96metres by 1.68metres and 29 works of art are being sought. Five have already been chosen, DAN is waiting on the schools for further pieces but more are needed so people are urged to get in touch.
Ideally, the art works to fill the gap will be done in acrylics, although some chosen are watercolours which will be varnished in a bid to help them last until the spring when it is hoped the mural will be back to its former self.
Historian, DAN member and chairman of Droitwich Arts Society Alan Davey has been tasked with finding the art works for the space and was there on Thursday to oversee the mural’s removal.
He said: “It’s marvellous we have finally got around to getting it restored.
“It was a lovely moment when Philippa was there as it brought back memories of when she created it and how she put all the pieces together.”
He said he was looking forward to seeing
He added because DAN only had ownership of the mural for five years, he was also hoping to find a person, company or group to take long-term responsibility for the mural and its upkeep.
“They would need to get it insured against damage and maintain it so it could be enjoyed for generations to come.”
Anyone wanting to have their artwork displayed or interested in taking long-term responsibility for the mural should email Alan Davey at [email protected] or call him on 01905 773289.
