After being approached by organisers of the Chelmsford Arts and Cultural Festival, Essex-based graffiti artmakers Brave Arts volunteered to brighten up the concrete structure with a bright mural. Chelmsford City Council worked with the group to bring about the mural, which used fifty cans of Loop spray paint donated to the project by Alfreshco Paints.
Artist Scotty Brave, also known as Brave1, created the wall painting in just five hours. Formerly plain grey concrete, the sides and back of the skatepark's popular half-pipe are now adorned with colourful urban art showing comic-book-style monster characters, green leaves, lettering and the Chelmsford Arts & Cultural Festival logo.
Under commission from the City Council, Brave Arts previously livened up several other public structures in the area with exciting murals, including underpasses at the Bringey, Wood Street and West Park.
Councillor Bob Massey, Cabinet Member for Parks, said, "I would like to thank the Festival and Brave Arts for the fantastic work they have done to create this striking mural. Since the skatepark was completely refurbished in 2016, it has become increasingly popular and a splash of artistic colour can only add to the enjoyment for skaters and BMXers of all ages and abilities."
Scotty said, "One of the reasons I was thrilled to be involved was that Chelmsford has had an underground Aerosol art scene for almost as long as there has been aerosol art in the UK. It's important that spaces are provided as an outlet for those wishing to practice this artform legally and responsibly, allowed aerosol art to flourish as it has done in Chelmsford for decades."
Candy Joyce, who arranges visual arts for Chelmsford Arts & Cultural Festival, said, "For me, it's very important to include a wide variety of art in the festival, especially things like street art, which is very approachable for people who 'don't like art' and people can engage with it without having to walk into an art gallery.
"I cycle through Central Park a lot and, while the skate park is always full of people, I thought it could do with some decoration. I'm really pleased with how the work turned out - helping Brave Arts with the painting of our logo was great fun!"
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