An art project created with local people to tackle littering has been launched in Luton.
Local arts company Ideas Test was commissioned to consult with a group of Luton Road area residents to look at health and wellbeing. They heard that litter was a concern in the area, so together with artist, Thor McIntyre-Burnie of Aswarm, they created a plan.
As part of the HEARD project, waste bins on Luton Road have been transformed into sound systems. When you put waste in, the bin thanks you, plays a message from local children or spits some beats, helping locals have fun and feel more connected to their neighbourhood.
The beats from the bins were created by pupils from Luton Primary and Phoenix Primary School in workshops run by World Beatbox Champion, Rupert Oldridge, who has been heading up hilarious, engaging, fortnightly beat boxing litter picks with volunteers along Luton Road for the last three months.
The project was funded through the Creative Health Medway Place Partnership Programme, thanks to investment from Arts Council England. The partnership is a two-year-long programme which was developed as a collaboration between Medway Council’s Culture and Public Health teams and Creative Medway.
Ideas Test is one of the Arts Council of England’s Creative People & Places Projects. They aim to create pride and joy through arts and culture, especially for people who are often underrepresented. Across Medway and Swale, they run creative activities and events that bring communities together and make a real difference in people’s lives.
Incredibly proud to be supporting this project
Cllr Simon Curry, Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder covering Waste, said: “We always encourage people to be responsible with their rubbish and throw it away in a public bin or take it home, rather than littering. I know from personal experience that litter blighting our communities is a topic our children and young people are really passionate about, and projects like this, which are rooted in the local community, are such a great way to help spread that message and engage with people.
“The ideas that Ideas Test have some up with in partnership with the community are brilliant and we are incredibly proud to be supporting this project. Whether it is beatbox litter picking, talking bins or the new stickers to help let us know when they need emptying – there are loads of ways for you to get involved and help make a real difference on your doorstep.”
Hear what is important to them
Speaking at the launch, Ideas Test’s Wayne Parsons said: “We set about a consultation period with community members here in Luton to hear what is important to them, what issues they want to address and what changes they wanted to see. They decided litter is something we might be able to help with, so we thought about how we could do that in a creative way.”