Building Plymouth Community Projects

Farewell to the Road to Mayflower Art Panels

With sadness the Building Plymouth team supported by construction friends have now removed the vibrant ‘Welcome to Plymouth Art Panels’ which have been brightening up Embankment Road alongside the GWR railings for over two years.

The art panels were created to mark the city’s Mayflower400 commemorations and were delivered by Building Plymouth and the Plymouth Design Forum (PDF) working in partnership to develop the inspired concept of art installation by children and young people to improve the visitor welcome experience as part of The Road to Mayflower volunteer project.

Despite the restrictions imposed by the global pandemic, 28 local schools created striking works of art with each design telling the story of Plymouth’s history and heritage, brightening up everyone’s daily commute!

Volunteers from Building Plymouth members Lorne Stewart, SWH and YGS Landscapes came together in early December to remove the art panels and delivered them back to the schools to continue to display them around the school grounds for many years to come.

Emma Hewitt, Skills Lead/ Building Plymouth Lead said: “Thank you to everyone who has been involved in this fantastic project and to our volunteer removal team for making things so much easier. Amazing support from YGS Landscapes, Lorne Stewart and SWH as always, thanks also to GWR for hosting our art panels and enabling us safe access. We hope the legacy of Mayflower400 and pride in Plymouth will live on at the schools through the children and young people who were so creative in designing these impressive storyboards. Through removing these panels and hiking them along the pavement James, Morven and I have discovered muscles we didn’t know we had!”

On receiving their panel back Mrs Mills – Curriculum Team Leader for Art and Design at Eggbuckland School said “ A massive thank you to the Building Plymouth team at Plymouth City Counsel who were instrumental in the organisation and delivery of the Mayflower Panel project. GCSE students created the design inspired by the Coast, the local artist Sarah Smalldon and celebrating 400 years of The Mayflower crossing. The panel has adorned the fencing along Embankment Road for the last 2 years and now it takes pride of place on the Creative Studies block ready for everyone to see. We can assure you that it looks amazing in the winter sun but is better seen up close.”