The Friends of Handforth Station (FoHS) have installed a new piece of community art commemorating their 25th anniversary.
The artwork, a large decorative brushed-steel screen, portrays Handforth Station as “a welcoming place: a gateway to Handforth and to the world”. Designed by FoHS’s lead artist Paul Pickford, it illustrates a horticultural archway celebrated by two children and surrounded by local wildlife.
The design was created following workshops with the local community, who offered ideas and concepts for the screen. Many of the images in the work reflect works already part of Handforth Station’s “A Platform for Art”, including “Light At the End of the Tunnel” and carved railway sleepers.
The project, which adorns the west side of Handforth Station concourse, has been supported by Community Rail Network and Community and Voluntary Services (CVS).
Elsewhere at the station, Network Rail are in the process of installing lifts as part of an Access for All project, with design work due to start soon. FoHS are planning substantial enhancements to the associated infrastructure works, working closely with Network Rail to ensure that decorative enhancements are part of the designs.
Paul Pickford said: “It was great to see the screen in place. I will be running some more community art workshops, to generate and collect further imagery which we can apply to decorating and humanising the planned lifts and other areas of the station.”
Aoife Middlemass of CVS added: “It’s wonderful to see what groups such as Friends of Handforth Station are doing within their local community, providing opportunities for mental and physical wellbeing in public spaces. I am privileged to support them in my role as a development officer at CVS.”
