Street Art On Gable Ends
Ideas to brighten up a town
I’m working on ideas to brighten my town, and one of the easiest ways to do this is with murals. They can go on walls or – as I think works really well – gable ends. Here are some of my thoughts.
Background
Many areas of my town are looking worse-for-wear and run down. That doesn’t encourage visitors, nor does it improve residents’ perception of the town. It gives the impression that no one cares.
Many things contribute to this. Litter, fly tipping, empty buildings, and a lack of maintenance are the worst culprits. This project aims to tackle one of those causes.
The goal would be improving the gable ends of properties around the town centre (and possibly beyond). Not just repairing them, but decorating them with artwork that brightens up the town, echoes back to its rich history, and acts as aspirations for the future.
Other towns and cities have implemented this kind of thing and it has become a popular activity for tourists to go around and visit all the street art. The Glasgow Murals Trail is a wonderful example of that in action. See also the Carlisle Street Art Tour, Paisley Mural Trail, and one at Aberdeen (by Nuart, and part of an annual festival).
I’d like to use multiple artists, and therefore different styles, topics and treatments. That makes each mural worth visiting. Ideally the artists would be local. There might be an opportunity to get local schools and colleges involved with some of the designs.
It could also be in conjunction with craft courses in local colleges: plasterers, scaffolders, artists etc. They could be involved as practical experience and things to go on their portfolio.
Initially there would be a trial of 1-3 artworks and sites as a small-scale test of concept, and then we could gauge the response of local residents and visitors.
It’s a chance to be proactive, to be for something. It could contribute to tourism, local opportunities, and pride in the town. It would benefit everyone. While the scaffolding is up it could also be an opportunity to do repairs, clear gutters and so on, further helping to fix eyesores and maintain our lovely buildings.
Some walls might not be suitable for fine painting, and for those we could use removable boards, or more suitable designs e.g. colourful spray paint art (which works even on very rough surfaces). Removable boards covered with art work could also be used over the windows of empty shop fronts. It helps hide the current problem of wastefully empty businesses and buildings in the town centre.
If successful, then in the long run it could be rolled out to other towns in the county that wanted to do something similar.
The list of sites (and the artists responsible) could be on websites, apps, and also as a printed leaflet available from central locations.
The first step in this kind of thing is always to find potential partners who are interested. It is a collaboration opportunity, bringing organisations and people together. Some might be interested in design and content, others in part- or wholly-fund one of the murals.
Costs, Risks, And Potential Issues
Note that these projects are aspirational. There are challenges, but that doesn’t prevent us from pushing for something that would benefit our towns.
There are likely to be issues with conservation areas (which have extra controls over development and may affect colour palettes) and planning, ameliorated by liaising with local planning departments. Planning permission may be needed in some cases, which has a cost attached.
We need to work up an estimate of costs of doing one end gable in the centre of town. The costs of work to potentially renovate it, scaffolding, materials, and also for the art work itself.
There are ongoing maintenance responsibility decisions. Also questions regarding contracts with building owners (and what happens if the building is sold).
My own mock-ups
During a walk around the town I took photos of buildings as examples, then overlaid random images, to give a vague idea of how it could be transformed. Sure, it is messy masking, don’t look too closely! But it shows how much more vibrant a street can look with a mural.
Does your town have anything like this?
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Hi Karl - this would def cheer up some of the areas of Dumfries - make it interesting and fun. Dumfries has a rich past which would provide plenty themes to base art work from - thinking the u su google heroes / heroines ’/ aswell as the usual Bruce/Burns combos. S
I love the Glasgow murals - they make a town or city more individual.