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Miniature tiles and grout may not be the most obvious weapons in the fight against crime, but a former teacher believes they could go some way to cutting re-offending rates.
Artist David Tootill has launched a new initiative to involve offenders in the creation of public art, using the ancient skill of mosaic.
And Tootill believes that his project will go some way to countering what he sees as the inaccessibility of civic art in this country.
"Many of our great sculptures are very high up - on the tops of
buildings such as Somerset House, the British Museum and the Victoria
and Albert," he explains, "You need to look skywards to see
them and consequently they are hardly ever seen. Fine art looks down on
us - it's not accessible to people."
Madonna and Child, David Tootill,
Southbank Mosaics
Mosaic, he argues provides a form of art that is both beautiful and robust enough to be on display at street-level and has a valuable part to play in regenerating communities.
His project, Southbank Mosaics takes offenders on community punishment orders referred from London Probation Area to work on mosaics for public art exhibitions, walkways, tunnels, parks and schools.
The offenders learn transferable skills such as tiling, designing, cementing and project management all of which are NVQ assessed.
"I want the guys who come here to get a really good education and hit the top level of possibilities," says Tootill.
But he insists - the project is not just about education and the tasks are demanding enough for them to qualify as 'proper' punishment.
"They do the time. They have to put in the hours with demanding tasks which require patience and perseverance."
Moreover, he argues, the offenders are making a tangible and valuable contribution to society - as good quality mosaic work is often prohibitively expensive for many community projects.
"They are producing something of real value that will last for at least 100 years. That is something they can be really proud of."
For more information about the project please phone David Tootill on 0207 620 6070