Artists wanted for commissioned town centre mural

By Claire Dukes - 7 March 2019

Arts and CultureBusinessCharityCommunity
  • Artsite Trustee Sally Taylor is the brainchild of the project

    Artsite Trustee Sally Taylor is the brainchild of the project

A Swindon art hub is calling on artists to paint a mural in a bid to help bring community art back into the town centre.

Artsite Trustee Sally Taylor

Swindon's community art hub, Artsite, have launched a new creative initiative to paint a mural in the town centre.

Thanks to inSwindon BID, Artsite have been offered £2,000 funding to commission a Swindon-based artist, or artists, to work alongside Artsite and SCAN (Swindon Climate Action Network) to produce a vibrant mural entitled ‘My Town, My World’. Artists living in Swindon are being asked to submit samples of their work by 24 March. The proposed site for the mural is currently located opposite The Savoy on the panels cordoning off Aspen House.

Artsite Trustee Sally Taylor is the brainchild of the project - she hopes this will lead the way for other tangible schemes in the town centre and encourage more local businesses to invest in creative initiatives. 

Sally said: "This isn’t just about putting a picture on a wall, it’s about how the community can add to the town centre, – trying to fill the spaces and empty shops – because a lot of people are complaining about it. Projects like this happen in Bristol and Brighton, so why not Swindon? It’s not ‘tagging’ it’s community art.

"We’re working with SCAN, inSwindon BID and local businesses to highlight that we’re all working together to make our town centre better by resurrecting community art to get people attracted to the town centre again. If you took art out of life everything would collapse – but a lot of people don’t recognise that.”

The concept for the mural will be a collaborative effort between Artsite, the selected artist and SCAN. After the artist, or artists, have been chosen Artsite will host a workshop alongside SCAN to develop the idea into fruition. The organisations want to create a concept which incorporates current social and environmental issues – which also symbolise Artsite's ethos.

Sally said: "At the heart of it it’s about opportunities. We could have easily found someone to paint a quick mural, but it’s not about that. Artsite is about developing opportunities, and this would just be the beginning because murals were what Swindon was renowned for in the 70s and 80s thanks to Ken White.

"We hope this will plant the seed to create more murals in the future and provide more opportunities for Swindon-based artists.”

Vicky Silver, also an Artsite Trustee, added: “With this project Sally’s reclaimed it back for the artist – allowing them to input their own creativity. It’s also giving artists the opportunity to earn their keep.

"It’s highlighting artists, our area, - ‘the cultural quarter’ - the need for studio space and highlighting to the council and residents where we are and what we're trying to do."

The final plans for the mural will need to be signed off by Swindon Borough Council after inSwindon BID submit the proposals at the end of March.

For further information, and to apply, contact Sally Taylor via [email protected]. To submit work Artsite are requesting a brief CV and images of projects similar to the mural initiative by 24 March. 

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