Nottingham city centre is set to get a splash of colour after a local developer heard his home town described as 'vanilla'. Arran Bailey, managing director of ALB Group, has now pledged to "bring a colourful taste of Copenhagen to the city centre".
Mr Bailey began buying retail units in the city with the vision of creating a hub of independent shops, bars and cafes in the once bustling, Bridlesmith Gate area of the city. He says that after filling most of those units, he has enlisted the help of local youngsters, Leonard Design Architects, The Nottingham Project, Marketing Nottingham, Nottingham BID and Nottingham City Council to inject some colour into the area.
Now, five murals are planned as well as various other artistic additions to the area. Benjamin Kay, the project coordinator, explained that the murals would “celebrate the cultural legacy of Bridlesmith Gate, explore its diverse history and bring a vibrant and fresh new look to the area". They went on: "Through unique pieces, the street will be transformed into a walkable timeline. Each mural is an interpretation by the local artists which capture moments of time and stories from the past. Embark on a visual journey that starts 100 years ago and continues into our city’s cultural future.”
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Work on the project has begun this week but the idea began six months ago when the team at Leonard Design Architects and Marketing Nottingham visited Nottingham College. Students were asked what they felt about Nottingham, what stopped them from visiting the city and how it could be improved. Feedback was brutal with some saying that Nottingham was ‘bland’ in comparison to other cities.
John Morgan at Leonard Design Architects, said: “The students explained to us that they had travelled the world, been to bright colourful cities like Copenhagen and Berlin - and that Nottingham was vanilla in comparison. It made for difficult listening, and, as much as I love our city, you must admit that they do have a point. Many of the shops and buildings in the city centre - and on Bridlesmith Gate in particular - are cream and white or grey, there is no colour, and no personality."
Mr Morgan explained that some funding had been secured for the project and now the buildings on Bridlesmith Gate will be "painted in bright murals" with "bright artistic installations on every corner". He went on, there will be "even a few surprises - making the street a destination – and extremely Instagrammable.”
Artist for the work have been sourced by Nottingham BID and The Nottingham Project with Nottingham based arts community, Carousel beginning the work.
Arran Bailey, managing director at ALB Group, said: “We want to make this area cool again – bring a vibrancy back that Nottingham was once known for. After visiting students at Nottingham College, we knew that offering lower rents, and shorter contracts was just the first step in a wider plan. I was shown some concepts by John Morgan at Leonard Design Architects, his designs blew me away, and I knew this would be amazing for Nottingham. We hope that this project will provide a model for other cities."
The Nottingham Project director, Lee Walker, added: “These murals will be stunning examples of how culture and creativity can be used to help with the rejuvenation of one of Nottingham’s most famous streets and add to an ever growing collection of works across the city that tell our story whilst providing real opportunities for Nottingham’s creative community”
The five artists designing and painting the murals include Laura Decorum, Dilk, Lesser Than Three, Kynobio, Zena Kay and Emily Catherine.
Robert Dixon, head of business growth and CEO at Marketing Nottingham, said: “I have been involved in trying to rejuvenate Bridlesmith Gate for many months and years. Following the research with students at Nottingham College, we hosted a group of city centre stakeholders on a walkabout a few months ago – and John Morgan and the team from Leonard design shared the concept of what was being planned – this got tremendously positive feedback and hopefully spurred on the owners to move ahead."
Martin Rayment from The Carousel, who is operations director on the project, added: “This is a really great example of Philanthropy from a private landlord, and it fits well with The Carousel's ethos of making creative things happen."
Alex Flint, CEO of Nottingham Business Improvement District (BID) - the city centre business alliance who are providing funding for the installation of the murals, said: “Commissioned street art is increasingly seen by cities as a significant visitor attraction, and a valuable asset to local communities. We are therefore delighted to be supporting local artists to create these vibrant, large-scale artworks, which will enhance the historic Bridlesmith Gate area for years to come."
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