Art has always been intrinsic to socio-political change - come view the inauguration of the Redbridge Peace Monument 24th September 2011.

Wilson Chowdhry for the last 5 years has been campaigning for a peace monument in his home town of Redbridge.  The East Ilford Business Partnership a group that Wilson Chairs, raised £5000 towards a potential peace monument in Redbridge.   In April this year we secured a further £5000 via the East London Community Foundation.

The proposed monument will be installed at the Winston Way Roundabout just outside the town centre, opposite Vine United Reform Church Car Park (location of the tragic attack to Kashif Mahmood in September 2005).   An official inauguration of the monument  is scheduled for 15:00 on the 24th September 2011.

The Cenotaph in London is a poignant reminder of the futility of war, we hope our monument will be a beacon of hope and a reminder of the futility of violent crime.

We will allow families of existing victims and future ones to add a small plaque to the base ensuring that the monument always has a current focus. 

At a time when great healing is needed in a city ravaged by street violence and the ensuing fear during the recent London rioting, projects such as these have a pivotal role to play.

OOnce the project funds are in place, we will be holding a boroughwide Schools competition for the design of small mosaics that will replace temporary ones in its initial design, during its first anniversary. This will give ownership of the project to young people and create a sense of responsibility for the only officila artwork in Ilford South..  The first of these designs will be chosen form children from the local area who enter our competition during Redbridge's first ever Peace concert to be held from 12pm - 6pm on 24th September 2011 in Ilford Town Centre.    

Activities include;

• Live performances
• A painting competition (best ones chosen for mosaic in monument design)
• "Whale of a time" workshops using clay modelling to improve learning about endangered species and the environment
• Community stalls and much more.

The one day event has been sponsored by the Redbridge Community Chest fund operated by the Strategic Services department of Redbridge and "Awards for all"

In time we hope schools will take children and young people to the monument for talks and presentations on the impact of violent crime. Parvin Mahmood the mother of victim Kashif Mahmood, has agreed to talk to schools about the impact of the attack that led to the loss of her son's life. She has already spoken in various schools and colleges across the borough.


Read more (Ilford Recorder)


Here is what our funders form the East London Community Foundation said:


"East London Community Foundation assists a large number of community groups in Redbridge with small project grants up to £5,000. We support local people - like the Mahmood family and Wilson Chowdhry - to take the initiative and do something positive to tackle local issues. We were pleased to offer funding from our Grassroots Grants programme to East Ilford Business Partnership for the Peace Monument in Winston Way roundabout. We feel the monument will be a useful focal point to raise awareness among young people that using knives as a weapon can so easily have lethal consequences. We liked the multicultural and inclusive nature of the monument, and the fact that local children will have the chance to be involved in its design. We hope it will unite local people to prevent violence and knife crime."


Here is what the Ilford Recorder said:

http://www.london24.com/news/ilford_peace_monument_unveiled_for_victims_of_knife_crime_1_1028799

Here is another version of the story:

http://www.knifecrimes.org/Peace-Monument.html