PLACEMAKING | URBAN ART | MURAL
While working on a shop front improvement project, we spent time chatting with local shop owners and residents. Many told us they'd love to know more about the area's rich history. So we suggested putting some of the funding towards celebrating that heritage with murals, tying in nicely with Tooting's Borough of Culture status.
We teamed up with local historians, civic groups, businesses (both local and national), councillors and council officers to bring local history to life through a series of painted 'ghost' signs around the town centre. These are currently going up and will be painted very soon; keep an eye out for them!
As you can see in the photo above, one of these is the Granada Cinema mural. The Granada is the only Grade I listed cinema in the UK, and its interior is truly spectacular. Yet when we spoke to people locally, very few had ever stepped inside. Today the building is home to Buzz Bingo, but it has a long and glorious history that felt well worth celebrating on the outside.
Working closely with local historians and the council archives, and tracking down out-of-print local history books, we created an artwork designed to look like a period advert, as though it had always been there. We've since shared the story behind it at local history talks, where it's been wonderfully well received.
Here are some of the other murals from the series, due to go up soon:
