Belgrave Village Project Director kicks off hoarding competition with brief to local design students

Ross Oates, Project Director of Belgrave Village delivered a brief to 12 BTEC Art & Design students from the Joseph Chamberlain College, to create artwork for a new 8 panel hoarding based on recognisable landmarks and architecture around the city centre for the site.

The winning artwork from one of the students will be displayed by the road on Haden Way from the beginning of March 2023. The project will be part of the students next module and give the students valuable work experience, and they will present their final pieces at the end of term to their peers and management at Belgrave Village, with the work being marked towards their final grade.

The 12-acre site, which fronts Belgrave Middleway and Haden Way, close to Highgate and Digbeth – comprises of 438 homes, including 264 one and two-bed apartments and 174 two, three and four-bed houses, will be completed in 2025, meaning the artwork will be enjoyed for years to come.

After delivering the brief, Ross, Project Director commented, “We can’t wait to see the designs the students come up with. We want the site to be a real part of the city centre and the designs they incorporate onto the hoardings will reflect that.

The college is directly opposite the development on Haden Way, and used to be where the old college grounds were located, so getting the students to take part in the design project felt like the right way to get the community involved, especially as some of their parents  will remember the site being the old college and have memories of what it was like at the time. ”

Jo Lawrence, the college’s Vice Principal, expressed that “We, as a college collective, are incredibly proud of these outstanding students. We eagerly anticipate our students’ artwork and cannot wait to see how they inject their bespoke creativity that has been honed in lessons into their pieces. We are thankful that we are able to incorporate this opportunity into our students’ courses and work experience, and it will be a very inspiring moment for us all when the winning piece is displayed.”

The students will be working on the project throughout January and February, using photography and mixed media art. The winner will be announced at the end of February and the hoardings then will be printed and installed by early March at the latest.