Back in March 2020, local artist Sven Shaw was set a task to brighten up the Bradford Interchange, colouring commuters mornings and giving the tired-looking walls a fresh new look, using paint from Community RePaint Bradford.
“Bradford in Spires” is the title of the new community mural featured at the Bradford Interchange. The mural features towers and spires from some of the city’s iconic landmarks, accompanied with bright colours to bring new life onto the former tired-looking walls.
The project was commissioned by “Bradford BID“, who work on projects to benefit the entire range of business sectors within central Bradford. The completed work has been marked with a plaque, which thanks Sven for his hard work, as well as thanking Community RePaint for their donation of leftover paint to the project.
Sven collaborated with Community RePaint Bradford, who supplied the local artist with leftover paint. The paint had been collected from manufacturers, retailers, traders in the area, as well as from the district’s recycling centres where residents can drop off leftover paint. The paint was checked to ensure it was suitable for reuse rather than disposed of. Since signing up to the Community RePaint Network in 2001, Community RePaint Bradford has collected over 45,000 litres of paint each year!
Due to the large amount of paint the scheme collects, they always have a large variety of paint types and colours. If you want paint for your home or for a community project, you can make an appointment to go along during their opening hours to choose some paint. They sell the paint for £1.50 per litre. Find all of the details of the scheme here.
Before:
After:
Can you recognise any of the iconic Bradford landmarks?
The mural includes Penny Bank, City Hall, the Wool Exchange, the Bradford College Old Building, Lister’s Mill, the Alhambra, Bradford Live, Eastbrook Hall, the Bradford Gurdwara, Bradford Cathedral and Bradford Central Mosque.
Sven Shaw is a freelance illustrator who specialises in cityscapes, maps and local interest illustrations. You can check out his other amazing and colourful work on his website here!
Are you planning a project to brighten up your local city?
You can find paint at one of our 65+ schemes across the UK. Find your nearest scheme here!
