Fife youngsters group celebrate home town with anniversary mural

The Linton Lane Centre in Kirkcaldy’s 16-24 group’s colourful mural now takes pride of place in its recently refurbished main hall.

And the timing is perfect, helping to celebrate Linton Lane’s 60th Anniversary and 100 years of Kirkcaldy Boys Club.

The 16-24 group has been meeting weekly since early June, with funding from a Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing for Adults grant managed through Fife Voluntary Action.

The group meets on Wednesday evening at the Centre – entry is free and all are welcome – with an emphasis on building friendships and confidence through creativity and it was the young people’s idea to create a mural marking the anniversary.

The FVA funding helped provide resources, youth worker support and support and guidance from Donna Forrester of Donna Forrester Artwork, who helped draw out the youngsters’ creativity and artistic talent.

Donna said: “The group wanted to create artwork in the Centre to celebrate the anniversary and the people who use the space.

“There were some personal touches included. Everyone in the group was able to add their own elements to the final piece and I suspect some might be producing murals of their own in future.

“Van Gogh’s Starry Night was used as inspiration for the work. The team effort was impressive and the triptych produced really reflects the positive energy in the Centre.”

It was the first project of its kind and scale that the young people had been involved in and had positive effects on their motor skills, communication and general mental health. It also helped with College portfolios and confidence to plan future activities.

One of the participants, Zack McGowan (22), said: “It was great to be involved in something extraordinary, I found it very therapeutic.

“Donna and the staff were so nice and it was good to be involved in every stage of the project. It’s a great accomplishment by everyone.”

17-year-old Roxanne Guppy added: “It was nice to have creative freedom and have the opportunity to feed back along the way.

“I really enjoyed the painting as this is my favourite thing to do. It was a really supportive environment and I was able to share my skills and help others.”

The young people worked on self-expression and fed their own experiences and emotions into the mural, with some very quirky touches, such as their pets or their favourite activities, as well as recognizable local landmarks such as the ‘Kirkcaldy heart’ and the three Forth Bridges.

The latter appropriately mirror the existing mural created at Kirkcaldy Boys Club by four boys 36 years ago – ‘The Ghost of the Forth’ was funded by Forth Bridge Centenary Trust and created by brothers Neil and Paul Arnold, Pete Cura and Grant Shields and completed in September 1990.

The old mural was damaged during the storm that hit Linton Lane in February last year but has been salvaged and now hangs at the opposite end of the hall to the new mural.

The group also incorporated contributions from young people who attend Linton Lane’s Junior Youth Club.

Mandy Hunter, Chief Executive Officer of Linton Lane Centre, said: “The group were given a free reign to design and create their mural and we think it’s absolutely fantastic how they have brought their own ideas, skills and commitment to the project and been hands-on throughout.

“The mural is so bright and is so positive about the Centre and Kirkcaldy and it’s a fantastic throwback to the original artwork.”

Local firms also assisted with the project - Paul Dow Joinery measured up wall space, cut and prepared boards – donated by MKM Kirkcaldy - and helped securely mount the finished artwork.

A spokesperson for Paul Dow Joinery said: “We had to reschedule some planned work, so we decided to offer our joinery services to local charities, including Linton Lane Centre.

“Visiting them, seeing the vital work they do for local families and the wider community was truly inspiring. We feel genuinely humbled and honoured to play a small part in their work.

“Kirkcaldy is undoubtedly a better place because of the wonderful people who manage and support these kind of charities.”

Mandy added: “It’s been such a positive project for the Centre, giving opportunities to an age group that is sometimes under-provided and involving great partnerships. We would really like more people to come to the group.

“We were also addressing the fact that there were a lot of young men. For that age group we thought what could we put something on that people would come in for, because it's not a youth club age.

"So we focussed it around graffiti art, which is quite current with what's going on in Kirkcaldy, and as well as doing the graffiti and the art, they also just get together for a pizza and a chat.

“We’re all excited to see what the 16-24 group comes up with next.”