A 25-metre-high hot air balloon hand-stitched by competition winners will take to the skies this month as a “floating gallery”.

Artists musson+retallick, - winners of the Thamesmead art competition organised by Peabody - have spent two years working with the Thamesmead community to create an ambitious new artwork Fields of EveryWhen.

The artists have designed and built a 25 metre-high hot-air balloon showcasing over 200 artworks inspired by the people and places of Thamesmead and created for the project by local residents, artists, and community groups.

These designs have been collaged together and digitally enlarged onto 800 metres of balloon fabric to form an incredible ‘floating gallery’. 

The balloon will fly five times over Thamesmead this summer, strengthening the area’s reputation as a growing creative quarter of London. 

The first flight of Fields of EveryWhen will be on Monday August 15, followed by a flight at the free, community-powered Thamesmead Festival, which takes place in Southmere Park on Saturday, August 20.

As the newly opened Elizabeth Line opens up access to Thamesmead, the stories and artworks of its residents will be flying high above the town in this unmissable art event.

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