Art UK Digitises Thousands of UK Murals in Ambitious Public Art Project
The charity Art UK has announced the successful digitisation of more than 6,600 public murals across the United Kingdom, far exceeding its initial target of 5,000 pieces. This ambitious project, launched in January 2024, aims to catalogue the nation's diverse public art, ranging from oil paintings and watercolours to statues and street artworks.
From Medieval to Modern: A Diverse Collection
The collection spans from medieval church wall paintings at St Thomas' church in East Shefford, Berkshire, to contemporary pieces like a mural in Cardiff referencing Liam Gallagher's viral social media post. Examples include the smallest murals on bollards in Shrewsbury and one of the largest on a 16-storey block of flats in Gosport, Hampshire.
Geographic diversity is also notable, with murals documented from Penzance to Orkney and Lowestoft to County Fermanagh. Highlights include columns resembling Rolo packets under the M4 in south Wales, a grazing giraffe on a tenement building in Glasgow, and a depiction of Alan Bennett riding a bike on the side of BBC Radio Leeds.
The Rise of Murals in the UK
Katey Goodwin, deputy chief executive of Art UK, stated that the number of murals has exploded in recent years. "It has gone from seeing a few murals here and there to them being everywhere," she said. This surge is attributed to increased commissioning by councils and regeneration bodies, often to revitalise town and city centres post-Covid, as well as the growth of street art festivals.
Murals have transitioned from being subversive and underground to more mainstream, with cost being a key factor. Goodwin noted that murals are often cheaper and quicker to produce than statues, making them an attractive option for public art projects.
Themes and Purposes of Documented Murals
The project has identified several recurring themes among the recorded murals:
- 19% are commemorative, reflecting national events, sporting triumphs, protest movements, and mourning.
- 23% feature wildlife and animals, such as a nuthatch, squirrel, and robin among spring crocuses in Moseley, Birmingham, and a spray-painting raccoon in Worcester.
- 11% focus on heritage and industry, often recalling declining or vanished industries, like a large mural of a miner holding a canary in a cage in Wrexham.
Other murals address significant issues like the climate crisis and women's safety, while many are simply intended to "make you smile," according to Goodwin. An example is "Lola the Barras Pirate" in Glasgow, depicting a girl dressed as a pirate with no deeper message than fun.
Community Involvement and Challenges
The project relied heavily on volunteers who searched for and photographed murals, supplemented by online research and collaboration with street art festivals. Art UK explicitly excluded graffiti and tagging due to the project's scale, cost, and the fleeting nature of such works.
Goodwin acknowledged that the collection is not exhaustive, as murals can be painted over or buildings demolished. "There's just under 6,700 on the website now and we can't say this is every single mural in the UK because things come and there will be new ones which weren't there last week," she explained.
Impact and Reception
Street artists have welcomed the project. Essex-based artist Scotty Irving highlighted how street art "connects people to true stories" and shared an anecdote about a local school using a new mural as a live lesson, with children engaging through social media and Art UK's resources.
Goodwin expressed admiration for the skill involved in creating large-scale murals that can "stop you in your tracks," adding that many pieces add colour and life to streets, while others are "incredibly poignant."
