HILLSBOROUGH BANNER: EDUCATION ON SOCIAL JUSTICE

WE HAVE REACHED OUR TARGET SO ARE CLOSING DONATIONS. THANK YOU!!

This project is a co-production between Scouse Flowerhouse and Peter Carney, creator of this, the Hillsborough Memorial Banner.

 

Peter is an artist, who’s banners are well known & regularly shown at Anfield. Scouse Flowerhouse builds on the charitable legacy of Landlife, whose work in Anfield goes back 2 decades and started on Merseyside as part of a housing co-op in 1975.

 

Peter’s Hillsborough Memorial Banner (HMB), & More & Destiny Delivered, have been chosen to be displayed in the Design Museum exhibition, Designing The Beautiful Game, from April 8th until August 2022. In keeping with usual HMB display protocol, the banner will include natural flowers for the exhibition opening. It will return to Liverpool for display on the Hillsborough anniversary, April 15th. The HMB will then return to London for display from April 19th to the exhibition end. During this time, the HMB will display artificial flowers. Rather than sourcing plastic or fabric flowers, Peter has proposed highlighting the beauty & value of wildflowers, by filling the banner flower pockets with handcrafted paper wildflowers. This replicates the actions of Liverpool people who created the field of flowers at Anfield following the Hillsborough disaster, which had inspired the inclusion of flower pockets in the HMB.

 

Peter created banners & collaborated with Scouse Flowerhouse on schools’ projects in 2020/1, and witnessed the children’s enthusiasm for sowing, counting and responding to wildflowers in Liverpool.

 

In the manner of our previous collaborative work, the paper wildflowers will be created in workshops, led by paper flower artist Ling Raaby Warlow. It will include the creation of commemorative bouquets for display in each school that takes part. The bouquets are intended to offer schools a focussed opportunity for their participation in the Hillsborough Legacy Day being planned for April 29th.

 

The project aims to bring a proactive, participative aspect to the HMB display, a tactile & tangible Hillsborough focus for schools, connecting the regenerative symbolism and meaning of wildflowers to Liverpool people.

The plan is to deliver 4-6 workshops in March with identified schools, which are involved in wildflower work in Liverpool, and to embed the work in partnerships with cultural organisations in Liverpool, such as Open Eye and the World Museum.

 

Positive outcomes will include learning about active social and environmental justice campaign, botanical learning, mindfulness and wellbeing, sense of collective pride, numbers of people who see the banner on display, and numbers of people involved.

 

The total cost of the project is £2,700, which includes flowers, materials and workshops. There have already been very generous donations from Spirit of Shankly (SOS), The Jamie Carragher Foundation and the Design Musuem. We are looking to raise a further £1,300 to reach the target.

Any money raised above the target will go to wildflower seed for Anfield sowings. The money will be ring-fenced with PollyPort CIC, which is the vehicle for delivering creative workshops and engagement inspired by the wildflower work by Rich at Eden Project.