Local artist CONSUMERSMITH has kindly given The Riverfront Theatre & Arts Centre permission to sell prints of his headline-hitting lockdown-inspired street art ‘May Love Be What We Remember Most’.
The prints show the piece in its original home, the street where it was created, as a nod to the fact that it originated as a site-specific memorial for the coronavirus pandemic.
The money raised from the sale of these prints will go back to fund future projects that The Riverfront will be working on with artists and the community to bring people back together to enjoy the arts and being creative in person once again.
CONSUMERSMITH comments ‘I think it’s fantastic that The Riverfront are using my work to raise money to fund projects that will bring artists and the community together. The very nature of street art is being for the people.’
Sally-Anne Evans, The Riverfront’s Community Arts Development Officer adds ‘We are so honoured to be the home of this wonderful artwork. It was central to our community project ‘Share the Love’ that we ran while closed and now the piece is going to allow us to run more activities and reach more people now that we’re back open. As a registered charity Newport Live and The Riverfront are extremely grateful for donations and public support to be able to do a lot of the community work we do and we really hope that these wonderful prints prove popular so that we can use the money raised to run some wonderful workshops and community sessions. Lockdown showed us that the people of Newport love being creative, and we would love to be able to invite more people through our doors to join us for exciting new projects in 2022.’
Throughout the Riverfront’s closure the artwork was on display in the front windows of the building for passers-by admire. The piece stands as a memorial for life lost in recent times and during the pandemic. The elderly, the vulnerable, the isolated, the lonely, the people in care unable to be visited, so apt was its new home in the window of a building built for people to come together to socialise and share joy, yet a building forced to stay closed to keep people safe.
The piece will be on display in the Riverfront’s first floor gallery from the Art on the Hill weekend of 26-28 November through until the new year so that visitors can admire the vibrant portrait in person and up close.
The A3 prints of May Love Be What We Remember Most are available for purchasing at the price of £8 each from the Riverfront Box Office. You can view the Box Office opening times and find out how else you can support The Riverfront online at newportlive.co.uk/Riverfront.
