The final mural in the 'welcome to Bridlesmith Gate' project was unveiled last night as celebrations took place at the Stick and Ribbon store on Friday, November 4 from 5pm. All of the artists along with the organisers gathered with the public to showcase the work, which has taken five months to complete.
The project aims to breathe life into the area of the city once known as a fashion hub which was left with many vacant stores after the collapse of the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre plans and Covid. Property Developer Arran Bailey, of ALB Group, has been buying the units and was keen to make the street 'cool again', with plans in place that were influenced by Camden in London.
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The five artists who designed and painted the murals included Laura Decorum, Dilk, Lesser Than Three, Kynobio, Zena Kay and Emily Catherine. The most recent mural is a portrait piece of Nottingham designer Paul Smith by Emily Catherine over the top of the designer's former store location on Byard Lane.
Shoppers will have seen Emily Catherine hard at work above their heads on Byrd Lane. It has taken days for the artwork to be completed with lots of early starts to avoid losing the light or experiencing too much bad weather.
Speaking at the event, artist Emily Catherine from Sherwood said: "It took 12 days in total to paint it but there have been months of background planning from a project management and co-ordination point of view. I had to have training on how to use a scissor lift so I have a license to do that now," she said.
Emily's piece which is a portrait of Paul Smith, is now on display but has the designer seen the artwork?
Emily said: "Not yet as I obviously only finished two days ago and I am assuming he is very busy but I hope he loves it. I know the shop owners on the street love it and I really hope I've done him justice."
Shop owners in Bridlesmith Gate are delighted with the artwork and say it has 'rejuvenated' the street. There are an array of new shops in the area including Stick and Ribbon and Barista Lab.
Stick and Ribbon shop Owner Sally Longden said: "It's amazing and really exciting to be a part of the rejuvenation of Bridlesmith Gate. We've noticed an increase in the dwell time for people coming into the area as they aren't just coming here and rushing off to Marks and Spencer or the train station, they are actually stopping to take time to look up."
Sarah Bishop, Assistant Manager of Fred Perry, added: "People took a load of photos when they were being done and stopped to ask questions about them. A lot of people don't realise the stories behind the artwork. It's been really nice when people put it all together. Since this street has opened up we have noticed an increase anyway."
Benjamin Kay is the Project Manager of Welcome to Bridlesmith Gate. He said: "Arran Bailey was looking to revitalise the area which is something that he has already started doing by painting the shop fronts here. He wanted to give the area a bit of colour or life again and is a big advocate for street art and culture."
"The overall plan for the street was to base it partially on Carnaby Street in London which was a hotspot for street art back in the day."
He added: "This is an amalgamation of lots of people's effort from the beginning to the funding from Nottingham BID, Nottingham Project and the ALB Group."
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