New Horizons

For social engagement and a brighter view of the urban environment

Painting the town red

New Horizons is a project that brought boundary-pushing and cutting edge street artists to Stoke-on-Trent. With a meticulous strategy and through the rejuvenation of blank — and often miserable looking — walls around the city, we curated locally, nationally and internationally renowned street artists to create artworks that engaged with the public and inspire them to become more knowledgeable about art, and be inspired by their city.

Role

Co-founder
Project Manager

Period

2013–19

Ryecroft Subway

One of the key projects of the initiative was this subway. Commissioned to paint the entire entry on both sides of a carriageway, it was previoiusly a space that was avoided and dilapidated even with it being along a key commuting path. We leant into the history of the area, with it being the founding location of the modern circus, and brought in artists David Samuel and Harry Fieber to produce this typographic mural over the space of two weeks.

Fauna Graphic

In a key city-centre location, we constructed the wall itself to bring in Sheffield-based artist Fauna Graphic to create an original mural. Titled ‘ Waxwings’, the mural still stands proud today, adding a sense of optimism and splash of colour into what used to be a car garage that was left to go into a state of disrepair.

45RPM

As part of 45RPM’s month long exhibition at Upstairs Gallery, we also secured a wall space in the city centre for a new mural to be produced. As with all the murals, the artist was allowed unlimited creative freedom on the piece.

Vibes

As one of the first two murals produced as part of the New Horizons project, London-based artist Vibes painted this abstract piece in the city centre of Stoke-on-Trent. As with every mural, we were responsible for overall project management, from securing the wall (agreeing terms with landlords / councils and local authorities) to hiring cherrypickers, materials and every logistic in between.

Krek FMS

Long-time collaborator, Manchester-based artist Krek FMS, was brought in during the same time as Vibes to paint the inaugural New Horizons murals in 2014. Krek was tasked to paint in the high profile location on the facade of The Sugarmill in the city centre.