Chairman of BCP Council and Bournemouth Mayor officially open Dorset’s largest public mural
Dorset’s largest mural was announced officially open to the public on Monday 2 September by Bournemouth Mayor, Councillor George Farquhar. Joining the Mayor for the opening ceremony was Chairman of BCP Council, Councillor Lesley Dedman, Acting Vice-Chancellor of Arts University Bournemouth (AUB), Lisa Mann, and Vincent Larkin, Course Leader of the Illustration course at AUB.
Bournemouth’s latest public mural was completed in just five weeks by a team of dedicated staff and students from AUB who applied their impressive design to the space under the Braidley Road flyover on the way into the town centre from Meyrick Park.
A collaboration between Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council, LUSH, AUB, directed by Bridie Cheeseman and Jake Williams from Studio Studio. The project was a live brief set by AUB’s BA (Hons) Illustration for both Illustration and BA (Hons) Graphic Design students. The intention was to celebrate the ‘Creatives of Dorset’ by showcasing 15 local and varied creatives who have lived in, or have connections, to Bournemouth and the wider area.
Attended by BCP Council portfolio holders and dignitaries, AUB staff, LUSH staff, and of course the students who painted the mural. The event started with a welcome speech from Chairman of BCP Council and the First Citizen of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Towns, Councillor Lesley Dedman, who said, “I am honoured to be here today to open this phenomenal cultural contribution to our conurbation. This beautiful artwork has transformed this whole area and has created a delightfully warm and colourful welcome into Bournemouth town centre. Not only visually stunning, it’s wonderful to discover that it’s celebrating local artists and painted by our local art students, a fabulous project.”
Following the Chairman was Lisa Mann who talked about the importance of collaboration, “We’re all very proud of this collaboration, this is what AUB is all about, working with stakeholders from our community and inspiring young people. We know that many of the local schools are already planning trips down here to find out more about the incredible creatives who are from our home county.”
Vincent Larkin went on to explain more about the creatives featured, “This project is all about advocating the power of creative practice located within our community. We’re showing off what culture in Bournemouth and Dorset can do, telling positive stories about the local area”.
“Just on this one pillar you can see a piece celebrating Mille Bobby Brown who spent some of her early years in Winton. She’s known for Stranger Things and Enola Holmes, this is the hat from Enola Holmes, a hit Netflix movie. And this is a quote from one of her interviews ‘Philosophies of women, for women’.
“At the top, you can see a painting of PJ Harvey, an amazing artist and singer-songwriter from Bridport who played at Glastonbury this year. And then we have internationally renowned art photographer and AUB alumni, Wolfgang Tillmans, who lived near Meyrick Park just up the road.
“The final one at the top of this pillar is Adama Jalloh, another AUB alumni and an award-winning photographer for recording artists and fashion shows who’s worked with titles like the New York Times, New York Magazine, TATE, NIKE and more. It’s amazing that we have all this talent with links
to the local area, and lots of AUB alumni or AUB Honorary Fellows too, it’s a real celebration of local creatives.
“There’s so many people to thank on this project, but the biggest thanks should go to the students who gave up their free time to design and then come and paint the mural, day after day for weeks on end, it’s an incredible achievement and a wonderful gift from them to the town.”
Councillor Andy Martin, Portfolio Holder for Customer, Communications and Culture at BCP Council, said, “BCP Council is honoured to have been involved with this project, which, through the exceptional talent of AUB’s artists, will help to further benefit and bring light to Bournemouth’s town centre while celebrating the historical importance and cultural richness of our region.”
Final words came from Bournemouth Mayor, Councillor George Farquhar, who said, “I’m absolutely delighted to be here to officially open this, the largest mural in Dorset. The amount of work that’s gone into this project is vast, and the results are incredibly impressive. After listening to Vincent explain just one of these six pillars I’m looking forward to the plaque and QR code being installed so I can find out more about the other artists featured.
“This giant canvas instils pride in our local area, recognises the talent we have within AUB and in Dorset, and celebrates these fantastic creatives. It gives me great pleasure, on behalf of the people of Bournemouth, to declare this mural, officially open.”
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