Over 250 residents gathered at the start of Snitterfield’s celebrations for the Queen‘s Platinum Jubilee on Saturday June 4th with a grand unveiling of the community’s art installation as a permanent memorial to the Queen.
The art project was funded by Arts Council England and a newly formed Snitterfield Jubilee Arts Committee invited every household, village group and child in the school & nursery schools to make their own clay tile.
Local ceramicist and founder of Escape Arts, Robin Wade, was eager to be part of this project. With decades of experience working with community groups, Robin guided everyone through the tile making process, with help from Melissa Keskinkilinc.
The Jubilee Arts Group, set up by residents Hilary Schmidt-Hansen and Andy Brettell, specifically aimed to bring everyone together throughout the project and this was certainly evident on Saturday when the villagers gathered for the unveiling of the 2 ceramic murals, containing 366 individual tiles, which now adorn the front of the village hall, forming a focal point for posterity and reflecting the diversity of village life.
The Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire, Tim Cox, was in attendance and thanked Karl Aust for his skilful tiling and the committee for their hard work. The tiles were officially unveiled by Dev and Daksha Keshavala from Snitterfield Stores who supported the community in so many ways during Covid 19 lockdown and continue to do so.
The whole weekend was a great success with a Children’s Art Competition and Afternoon Teas in the village hall followed by a Community Picnic with family Games on the school sports field and a BBQ with live music from Smokin’ Ts at the Snitterfield Arms on Sunday.