Get involved in the Town centre mural community workshops this Saturday!

inSwindon BID invites you to join renowned artists to create community town centre mural.

Earlier this week, inSwindon BID and Artsite announced the two artists who will be leading on the new town centre mural set for the Aspen House hoarding on Regent Street. Over the next few weeks, artists Martin Travers and Peter Cowdy, will be leading on the mural project, reaching out to the local community groups for input and their ideas into the ‘My Town, My World’ visual.

Artist, Sally Taylor, from Artsite, sits on the inSwindon BID Working Group for ‘Clean and Well-Maintained’, and suggested a mural concept to the group as part of the wider ‘Keep Swindon Town Centre Clean and Tidy’ campaign. Sally was approached by Swindon Climate Action Network (SCAN) - an independent group of volunteers from across Swindon who work on aspects of climate change and want to do something about it and drew this project into the Working Group initiative, creating the concept ‘My Town My World’ - making it a collaboration of community projects for Swindon.

On Saturday 8th June, Artsite and SCAN, in partnership with inSwindon BID, will be hosting the first community workshop in The Parade between 10am and 4pm, where they’re inviting local residents to come and meet the artists, share ideas and be a part of this exciting mural project.

Ben Bell from SCAN is looking forward to the community workshops: “As plastic usage is ubiquitous, the solutions to it mean engaging all people including organisations, businesses and representatives. Together we can make a difference. And that is what this project about for us - it is about communicating positive messages around hope, community and sustainability through positive action, through creativity, through working together. We are looking forward to a positive day with the people of Swindon.”

Peter Cowdy shares why he feels so passionate about getting involved with the project: "Having been raised in the Swindon area and being a part of its graffiti art scene for over 20 years I was excited to take part in this project and happy that groups like Artsite and inSwindon BID are passionate about utilising and sharing space in the town.

“The opportunity to work with the community is always a pleasure and I am enjoying the inspiration from connecting with people and hearing what Swindon means to them. I am particularly happy to learn from and collaborate with Martin on this project as well as the chance to create something in an area of town where so many people pass through."

Martin Travers explains why he wanted to get involved in the project: “I was born in Swindon and although I moved away and worked in many different places around the World, I have always been drawn back to visit family over the years. This is the first time I've been invited back to the here with my art and I look forward to re-connecting with the town and exploring what Swindon is today. I believe strongly in representing the city I was born in and will be drawing inspiration from the diversity that makes the city unique.”

Rachael Youd, inSwindon BID Business Development Manager, is encouraging people to come into the town centre and get involved: “As we continue to develop our campaign around keeping Swindon town centre clean and tidy, it would be fantastic to see the community come together once again for this project and put their mark on our mural for the town.

We’d like to thank The Parade Shopping Centre who have provided the unit for the workshop free of charge, they are delighted to be part of this community initiative and to encourage collaborative working.”

Community Workshop

Saturday 8th June at 10am – 4pm at The Parade, Swindon town centre.

If you’d like more information on the mural, or how to get involved, please contact Rachael Youd on 01793 485 523.