In January 2023 we started a conversation with Crawley residents about the positive change they want to see in the town as part of the Creative Playground project. They told us they want to brighten the town up with art and make Crawley a place where people can be inspired by just walking around. This is where the idea for the mural project came from.
The #CrawleyMurals have been made in partnership with a group of 19 Crawley residents who are part of the Creative Playground Playmakers group and/or were employed by Creative Playground as Community Connectors. We worked with them every month from August 2023 to May 2024, to develop the ideas, recruit the artists (from a pool of 126 artists that applied from across the world) and decide on final designs and locations for the murals.
We ran workshops with around 350 other local people with the artists we commissioned who helped to shape the designs for the murals.
“I live in West Green and heard about this through my school. I heard about Creative Playground through Facebook. This is an amazing idea to get kids to do them as well. We can make our town more beautiful and they can help as well. They can say to their friends I did this. The murals make me feel a positive feeling. This isn’t a place you feel scared of now.” Mural workshop participant
In May 2024 we launched 5 of the murals with a bus tour, thanks to support from Metrobus.
“I’ve been involved almost since the beginning and it’s amazing seeing them here now. All the hard work put into it (esp you guys) is all worth it. They look so good all around the town. I love the colours of this one. It is really different. It is going to make people feel safer. The tunnels look more inviting than before. Hopefully this will encourage people to come here rather than avoid it. It is even more amazing and impressive than I thought it would be.” Mural Playmaker
The sixth mural in this series will be installed in March 2025 in Manor Royal by artist Jac Seifert from Orakel Workshop. This project builds on other murals in the town that have been made and still exist including those in Three Bridges, on the wall of M&S in The Pavement, at Broadfield Barton, on Dorsten Square and in Crawley Library. There are others that sadly don’t exist anymore including the mosaic mural in Crawley town centre and we stand on the shoulders of all that work.
We hope these murals will last forever (well at least ten years) and that they will inspire others to brighten up the town with arts and culture of all kinds. We’d love to know what you think about them. Send us an email on [email protected] or DM us @creativeplaygroundcrawley on Instagram or Facebook.
The murals are funded by Arts Council England’s Creative People and Places Programme. Crawley Oak is also funded by Crawley Borough Council and Crawley Town Centre BID. Gateway to the World is also funded by Crawley Borough Council.
You can find out more about the Creative Playground project HERE
Creative Playground Crawley is an arts project in Crawley, managed by arts charity Creative Crawley. It was set up to engage more local people in arts and culture, led by Manor Royal Business Improvement District and a consortium of local organisations: Crawley LGBTQU+, The Hawth, Caridon Housing Trust and Crawley Community Action. It is part of Arts Council England’s Creative People and Places programme.
Creative Playground puts residents at the heart of decision-making. Through boundless thinking, energy and commitment, the project aims to improve people’s lives by increasing Crawley people’s engagement in arts and culture.
www.creativeplaygroundcrawley.com
@creativeplaygroundcrawley on Instagram, X and Facebook
Films by Ben Lintott. Image by Ian Greenland.
