The Lewisham School of Muralism will teach participants the process of creating murals based on our experience. From identifying spaces to designing, painting, evaluating and maintaining the work. Our emphasis will be on collaboration, co-creation and participation, engaging with the community.
We have teamed up with Goldsmiths to run 3 courses of 10 weeks each, over a period of 18 months, to bring more colour to the streets of Lewisham. Each course will have 12 students and each group will produce 2 murals as part of their professional development, increasing their skills and contributing to the local community.
To do this we’ll assemble a Mural Mobile (a trusty van) with all the equipment necessary to prepare, paint and maintain the murals to the highest standard. This will include items such as a scaffold tower, a hot water pressure gun for graffiti removal etc.
So far we are generously supported by Goldsmiths College, Lewisham Council, Network Rail and Lewisham Homes!
What we'll deliver:
- Train up to 36 young people and local artists in creating participatory murals
- Create 6 murals in Lewisham improving public spaces
- Give communities a voice and ownership in the creation of those murals
- Maintain the murals over time
- Increase employability and offer learning opportunities for young people
Why it's a great idea:
Have you seen any other London Borough with its own School of Muralism? Probably not. This idea has grown organically over two decades of local work, developing a process of engagement and over 15 murals that people love. There are many neglected public spaces in Lewisham that feel unloved, sometimes bringing about antisocial behaviour. These could be transformed by artworks that target the needs of the particular space. Artmongers has been committed to implementing processes which empower communities to reimagine and reclaim their environment. We have built a set of practical and creative methods which we are ready to pass on. We have been approached many times by young artists asking for guidance on how to contribute with their own murals to the local environment, and until now we have not had the structure to support them. The School of Muralism can be that vehicle.
Steps to get it done:
- 1: Select the students
- 2: Agree the process & timings of the course
- 3: Create a manifesto
- 4: Analysis of sites and engagement processes
- 5: Development of ideas
- 6: Turning ideas into images
- 7: Scaling & observational drawing
- 8: Permissions, risk assessments & logistics
- 9: Marking the wall with the designs
- 10: Painting and varnishing
- 11: Evaluation
Goldsmiths is committed to supporting the School of Muralism and has pledged £15, 000 and a space in-kind where the initial workshops will happen, which will then move on site for the making of the murals. They will offer the course to students of all departments as an extracurricular activity, so students and Lewisham residents will be working side by side, sharing their knowledge and exchanging skills.
Since our first mural in the borough in 2001, we have been supported by local businesses such as Brewers and they have also pledged £6, 000 worth of materials to the project.