The artwork is said to be “reflective of the district’s vibrancy and diversity”.
An area underneath a railway viaduct in east Bristol has been transformed by local artists after previously being spoiled by graffiti. Network Rail joined forces with Severnside Community Rail Partnership to commission these artists to give the underneath of the Fox Park viaduct in Easton a new lease of life.
The community art scheme underneath the viaduct on Stapleton Road sees five stunning pieces of art “reflective of the district’s vibrancy and diversity” replace the graffiti that was previously on the columns. The artists whose work now features are arts collective Peace of Art, Rob and Sophie Wheeler of Graft, Anna Higgie, Silent Hobo, Rob Wheeler, Dave Bain, and Zoe Power.
In an Instagram post, artist Rob Wheeler wrote: “For our pillar we were given the brief ‘bringing communities together and supporting diversity and inclusion’. We came up with the theme WOVEN – weaving together elements of pattern design from the different cultures which have intertwined to create what Easton is today.”
Peace of Art said the basis of their street art design on one of the pillars underneath the viaduct was formed by some of the locals’ favourite things about the area from a survey they carried out. Words such as ‘kindness’, ‘transport’, ‘friends’ and ‘parks’ were some of the responses which appear on the street art. Peace of Art also said: “We highlighted the diversity of the area by translating ‘home’ into the many languages which people spoke who took the survey. An homage to our beautiful multicultural Easton.”
Network Rail’s community safety manager, Steve Melanophy, said: “It’s really great to see members of the local community coming together to produce some fantastic artwork to improve the look of the local area…We want Bristol’s railway infrastructure to be a clean and welcoming environment for our passengers and local residents living alongside the railway. We are hoping that this new artwork will inspire people and continue to do so for years to come.”
This community street art scheme at Fox Park viaduct is the latest example of a wider Network Rail initiative known as Project Sprint. The initiative tackles graffiti hot spots on the railway across the south west, ensuring the condition and appearance of the railway is graffiti-free and well maintained for generations to come.
[Featured Image: @thevanniebee]