A mural which celebrates a Glasgow community’s past and present is helping residents look to the future.

The artwork inspired by Anderston’s young and old is now a fixture of Sanctuary Scotland Housing Association’s £50 million area regeneration.

The Glasgow School of Art (GSA) was given a budget of £15,000 for a mural to mark the completion of the regeneration project’s third phase.

Third-year architecture students used the memories and stories of residents to create the unique artwork unveiled on Friday.

GSA tutor Nick Walker, of Collective Architecture, helped guide the process to its conclusion.

Nick said: “The students are thrilled with the outcome of a project many months in the planning.

“The finished mural is testament to the group’s hard work in researching, consulting and ultimately designing an artwork that embodies Anderston’s past, present and future.”

Ten students from the GSA’s Mackintosh School of Architecture ran creative workshops to get inspiration from all age groups. Cranstonhill Nursery School, Anderston Primary School, St Patrick’s Primary School, Glasgow Gaelic School, Anderston Youth Café and Anderston Kelvingrove Church lunch club all influenced the final design.

GSA student Quyen Phan said: “At every workshop it was abundantly clear how proud residents are of Anderston. The mural attempts to capture the pride evident in each generation.”

The mural spells ‘ANDERSTON’ in individual, 60cm high, steel framed letters. Each letter is filled with materials relevant to the area. The ‘A’ includes small boats suspended in resin to acknowledge the historical importance of shipbuilding and the docks to Anderston. The ‘E’ and ‘S’ contain collages of pupils’ drawings which depict what Anderston means to them.

Cranstonhill Nursery School head teacher Kay Groves said: “The students spent a day with us and the children loved every minute.

“Their enthusiasm when decorating the individual letters of ‘Anderston’ was infectious – it certainly fed their imagination. It is great to see the finished mural and to know the nursery played a part in it.”

The mural is fixed to a wall in the square between William Street and St Vincent Street, making this community space more attractive.

Gordon Laurie, director – Sanctuary in Scotland, said: “This wonderful artwork is a welcome addition to our award-winning regeneration project.

“We are delighted the students consulted Anderston residents and used their work in the final design.”

A crowd gathered to see the mural formally unveiled by Glasgow Lord Provost Sadie Docherty.

Ms Docherty said: “It’s a privilege to witness the wonderful work you have helped create.

“The mural is an exciting creative collaboration that we can all enjoy for decades to come.”

@SanctuaryPR