Stop Loan Sharks Pixel Art Project
Project Overview
We are working in partnership with England Illegal Money Lending Team, Norton Priory Museum & Gardens and Cheshire Constabulary on a project focused on informing Halton residents about the dangers of Loan Sharks.
The ‘Stop Loan Sharks Pixel Art Project’ brings together a wide range of people from different backgrounds and experiences, to create a ‘Stop Loan Sharks’ pixel art stained glass window mosaic at Norton Priory Museum & Gardens in Runcorn, Halton.
The finished artwork will be installed across nine windows above the entrance to Norton Priory. This location will mean that the artwork will be seen by all visitors to Norton Priory. The artwork will also be visible when the museum is closed as it will be lit up during the evening for anyone walking in the area.
Creating The Pixel Artwork
We will be delivering, pixel art workshops with local schools and community groups. Our artists and Cheshire Police will be attending these sessions and teaching young people about the dangers of loan sharks and how to create pixel art. During the sessions, all of the participants will design their own ‘stop loan sharks’ 8cm x 8cm pixel art.
All the smaller pieces of artwork come together around our artist’s design of a type of loan shark, to make a larger mosaic piece of art. There are additional window panels with contact information for the Illegal Money Lending Team, to raise awareness about the confidential help that they can offer borrowers.
The seven pixel art mosaic windows, printed on translucent vinyl, are to be installed on the windows located in the atrium of Norton Priory. Due to the translucent nature of the vinyl, the mosaic panels will look like stained glass windows which can be viewed internally or externally. From outside the building, the windows are several meters above ground, internally however, they are adjacent to the mezzanine floor within the atrium which allows participants to get up close to the artwork and point out their own designs.
Unveiling and Celebrating
To mark the unveiling of the artwork we are going to deliver a free-to-attend celebration event at Norton Priory on Saturday 26th February 2022 between 12 pm and 2pm. This event will bring together the young people who have participated in the project, their families, all of the project partners, and the wider community.
As well as unveiling the huge, collaborative Stop Loan Sharks stained glass windows, our unveiling event is jam-packed with activities that are fun for all of the family. We’ll be making pin badges for visitors to take home and pixel art designs that we’ll display at Digital Arts Box headquarters.
We’ll have more information on the project, including a projector screen showing imagery captured throughout the project, including photographs from the sessions with students and examples of the wonderful pixel art designs.