A workshop has taken place in the first step towards a new COVID-19 sculpture at Nottingham Road Cemetery.
Artist Richard Janes has been commissioned to design a new sculpture, to serve as a place where people can reflect on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on their family and community. Young people from the Voices in Action (ViA) Youth Council, Chaddesden Park Primary School and St Andrews Academy, as well as Friends of Nottingham Road Cemetery, are helping to shape the designs.
At the workshop, members of the ViA talked to Richard about the challenges of the pandemic, but also the good things that came out of it, before making clay models to represent these positives. These models will be cast in bronze and used in the final sculpture.
The new sculpture will sit alongside other improvements in the cemetery, including tree management and bulb planting. Everything is being provided by the Our City, Our River programme (OCOR), Derby’s flood resilience project, as part of its positive legacy for the city.
In total, more than 100 new trees will be planted to fill gaps in the avenues. OCOR has a history of tree planting, with more than 500 planted to date and a target of over 2000 by the completion of the project.
Cllr Ndukwe Onuoha, Cabinet Member for Streetpride, Public Safety, and Leisure, said:
I was delighted to attend the workshop with Richard and the Voices in Action Youth Council. It was great to hear about the plans for the cemetery and the ideas the young people have for this sculpture. I look forward to seeing the plans take shape over the coming months.
Cllr Carmel Swan, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Transport and Sustainability, added:
OCOR is as much about benefitting communities as it is flood defences and I’m sure these works will become part of the wider legacy of this scheme that has already contributed so much to the city.
The inclusion of a new COVID-19 sculpture will provide a physical space for people to reflect on all their experiences of the pandemic, both positive and negative, and I’m delighted that OCOR is able to make this possible.
OCOR is Derby’s flood alleviation project led by Derby City Council in partnership with the Environment Agency. The project is delivering enhanced flood protection and unlocking the potential for regeneration around the city centre through new flood walls, flood gates and a state-of-the-art pumping station on the Mill Fleam. The next phase is due to begin this year at Derby Riverside.
Beyond infrastructure improvements, OCOR has also carried out an extensive programme of biodiversity enhancements including tree planting and installing bird and bat boxes.