Collective’s colourful and commemorative mural unveiled

06 April 2018

Colourful murals depicting a skyscape and leaping dolphins on the wall of a city primary school created by a collective of residents, artists, activists, pupils, and community workers have been unveiled.

The VictoriArt Road project is designed to brighten up and contribute to the regeneration of Victoria Road, spark curiosity, encourage civic engagement and establish a lasting movement in the area of Torry.

This new artwork created by the project at Walker Road Primary School includes some of the area’s best-known attributes – the dolphins which can be viewed from Torry Battery, the arched architecture of Victoria Bridge which was built in 1881 over the River Dee to connect the community to Aberdeen, a fishing boat reflecting Torry’s connections to the industry, and a seal and a heron which are both commonly-seen in the community.

Aberdeen City Council education operational delivery convener Councillor John Wheeler said: “The mural at Walker Road Primary looks stunning and really helps to brighten up the playground with images of things the children can all see in their local area.

“The VictoriArt Road project is a fantastic way of bringing people together and it will go from strength to strength, showcasing the historic community of Torry along with brightening up in the area in a modern way.”

The VictoriArt Road Collective was successful in being granted an Awards for All grant to undertake murals and public participation around art in Torry.

As part of this funding, the Collective invited artists from the local area to submit proposals and examples of their work, and three artists were chosen. The artist Marc Delaye at Freshpaint was chosen to create a mural which involved local people, and this evolved into the project at Walker Road Primary. The artist came in to discuss the mural with the P6 and P7 pupils and took away some ideas/drawings from the pupils as inspiration for the mural design. After the design was decided, Marc went to the school and sprayed the base coat and detailing of the murals with the help of several P6 and P7 pupils.

‎Marc at Freshpaint said: “It's been a great Collective project, and everyone has been so supportive and showed great dedication. I felt so welcome within the school and the collaboration worked very well - I am very proud of what the kids have achieved.

“Many thanks to Victoriart, thanks to the Throwup Gallery which funded the materials, and also a big thanks to everyone involved in the project for their support during the painting sessions.”

The mural is one of several schemes which VictoriArt Road is carrying out to regenerate Victoria Road using street art, and it was inspired by the hugely successful Nuart Festival.

Karen Cardno, volunteer Development worker for VictoriArt Road, said: “The VictoriArt group is really proud to see the first mural produced as part of the project and how it has been so well received by the community.

“This was the aim from the outset – that people would engage with the work and also help to produce them. We look forward to seeing the future works appearing soon and people continuing to play a part in the project going forward”.

The other schemes include the artist Throwup Gallery who held a public workshop for free for residents at Torry Youth and Leisure Centre two weeks ago. There will be more projects and activities coming up in the future as part of VictoriArt Road.

Anyone wanting to get involved in the VictoriArt Road Collective can contact victoriartroad@gmail.com for further information.