MURAL COMMISSION – OLD DIORAMA ARTS CENTRE

Following my ‘Diversity’ mural design I created for the Old Diorama Arts Centre back in 2022 (HERE), I recently received a mural commission from ODAC again working with The Euston Partnership / HS2, for the outside wall space of a proposed community hub which is currently taking shape on North Gower Street, NW1. The wall space belonged to the Maria Fidelis Catholic School, which had an original mural painted by the school kids, but got graffed over, so hopefully I can resurrect the vibes in a fresh way.

To aid the co-creation aspect of the project, I engaged local community groups including Hopscotch Women’s Group, The Neighbourhood MakeShop, Third Age Project, Remix Dance, Fitzrovia Youth In Action & Surma Centre over the past two weeks to help explore possible themes, subjects & ideas of what the final artwork could be. Special thanks to Mariam, ODAC participation manager, for arranging the community groups mentioned, Genevieve supporting as Producer ensuring things are tip top & Caito at the MakeShop for fully accommodating my workshop needs & showing me how to use a drill, properly !

Key takeaways for me so far, have included the importance of having charities like ODAC to activate spaces to enable community engagement as freely as they do, to connect groups who may not usually connect much through the arts, to understand more about different cultures through the act of sharing diverse food, to remain having an open mind & welcoming a fresh experience to learn more about each other…

Next phase: Final Design

Back soon!

P