HOPE SWEET HOPE – MURAL COMMISSION / OLD DIORAMA ARTS CENTRE X THE EUSTON PARTNERSHIP

Back in July this year, I completed a mural commission (which I’ve totally forgot to update / blog about since I was awarded the commission in Dec 2024) from The Euston Partnership & Old Diorama Arts Centre, for the outside of a new community hub on North Gower Street. Part of the brief was to engage various community groups throughout the design process leading to a co-created final outcome, from the youngest to the goldest member being 100yrs old! *Big up Lee from the Third Age Project. Through workshop sessions across various local sites, we explored various ideas of community, home & identity with groups through mark-making, collage & informal discussion. These sessions went super well & provided much insight into the fabric & spirit of the local community. During one of the sessions at the Make Shop, a community workshop space at the back of the site, a tub of sweets dropped on the floor & I observed the ‘sweet splatter’ as more artistic than a mess of sorts, which consequently went on to inform the key design direction of the final wall artwork *a sweet moment by chance or by design, maybe. The co-creation element fused in key motifs created by the local community groups into the sweet shapes, each sharing a personal story behind the imagery. Also, this is my first commission which incorporates a living wall installation including climbing plants around the mural provided by Lush Landscapes, which is pretty cool. Flashy exteriors aside though, I’m actually more interested in the long term positive impact the hub can potentially make through communities / groups being able to access the space to engage freely & share more stories together inside the space…so, let’s watch this space & hope for a sweet embrace, for all 🙂

*Will add more pics here soonish

THANKYOUs
Genevieve – Project Manager
Mariam – Community Manager
@immas.artist – Assistant artist
@zehra_marikar – Assistant artist
@ali_illustration – Assistant artist
Ruksana – Community assistant
Jamie – Community assistant
Bablu Miah – Community support
Hopscotch Women’s Centre
Third Age Project
Surma Centre
Remix Dance Crew
MakeShop Crew
Community Champions Camden
Fitzrovia Youth in Action
The CopyShop
Leylands UK
Great Art UK
Lush Landscapes 
The Euston Partnership team
Maria & Site workers
Camden Council