If you’ve walked down Railway Street this week you may have noticed that the shutters on the STAR Centre have been spruced with some beautiful spray art.
So, how and why has this happened? Well, let me tell you more…
Back in December, Keep Splott Tidy held their annual Christmas Litter Pick on Splott Road, using the side of the STAR Centre as a meeting point. The shutters were down, what with it being the weekend, and volunteers noticed that every shutter was tagged with graffiti. People got chatting about how lovely it would be to have more art (and nature) in that part of Splott and an idea took seed.
Members of Splott Community Volunteers, who were present at the litter pick and are based at the back of the STAR Centre (in what was the gym when it was a leisure centre) took on board the comments and, having recently worked with an amazing spray artist called Alex Pawson for an activity with young people, wondered about the possibility of decorating the four shutters with natural scenes and elements.
A conversation was held with the building managers, who very kindly agreed to the project.
Originally set to take place on the day of the Splott Community Volunteers’ Christmas Grotto on the 21st of December, the shutter decoration had to be postponed due to appalling weather. Fast forward to Thursday 16th January and conditions were good, and the artist got underway.
In one sitting, the four shutters were transformed into something bright and beautiful to be enjoyed by the community.
Artist Alex said:
‘I feel honoured for the opportunity to help brighten up Splott with my artwork and really pleased with how it’s turned out.’
Splott Community Volunteers hope to bring more art to Splott and have a few projects up their sleeves (keep and eye on their socials for more).
Information about Splott Community Volunteers can be found here.
Alex Pawson is an experienced artist, specialising in creating big, bright murals around the world. His aim is to inspire creativity and uplift communities world wide, promoting inclusivity through his artwork. – more information can be found here.
Let us know what you think of the new street art in Splott in the comments.