A new collaborative community mural has been unveiled in St Pauls

A new collaborative community mural has been unveiled in St Pauls

Posted on: 01 Nov 2022

A joint effort between Brighter Places, HazardOne and Upfest, this eye-catching, large-scale street artwork is inspired by the memories and words of the local community.

 

The mural is located on Lower Ashley Road in St Pauls on the side of a new affordable housing development and was created after consultation with local residents who decided the artwork should tell an authentic story of the area using the theme of ‘Putting Down Roots’.

 

 

Bristol’s world-famous graffiti festival, Upfest, has worked in conjunction with Brighter Places, the city’s largest independent housing association, to commission local artist HazardOne.

 

Known as one of the UK’s top street artists, HazardOne was selected and workshopped a number of ideas with residents from the new development to explore and expand the design using locals’ experiences of St Pauls and St Agnes area as a springboard.

 

Residents spoke of how they enjoyed hearing music and smelling jerk chicken as they walked down the street, the urban parks and how people from all kinds of different backgrounds and cultures come together to enjoy the vibrant local atmosphere.

 

Using these memories and experiences, HazardOne developed a stunning pixelated face design thus depicting, in the abstract, the strong sense of local diversity, inclusion and community.

 

The commission by Brighter Places is part of their development of a former petrol station into a housing site including 31 new homes. The development will be a mix of one, two and three-bed flats, including affordable units that will provide homes and support for the area’s growing population. This will be completed in 2023, see below for a pre-mural mock-up.

Speaking about the mural, Stephen Hayles (co-founder of Upfest) has said: “Being able to give local people and residents the opportunity to put their own ideas and creativity into this brand-new piece of street art was something that we were really looking forward to. 

 

“Engaging with communities and collaborating with them on this mural is what’s really made this a stand-out piece of art for the entire neighbourhood to enjoy.”

 

HazardOne’s brand new mural celebrating the amazing, diverse community of St Pauls is available to visit now on Lower Ashley Road, BS2.


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Article by:

Stanley Gray

Stan is a born and bred Bristolian, recently graduated from studying English Literature in Sheffield. His passions are music and literature and he spends the majority of his time in venues all over the city, immersing himself in Bristol’s alternative music scene. A lifelong Bristol City fan, Stan’s Saturdays are spent watching his team both home and away.