Art / Street Art
Artists transform drab alleyway into colourful outdoor gallery
It’s now so official that it’s even marked on Google Maps and currently has a unanimous five-star rating.
Mural Alleyway is the new moniker of a previously unnamed and unloved thoroughfare on which artists have added multiple colourful works.
The self-funded project is the brainchild of Rosa ter Kuile, aka RTiiiKA, who roped in fellow artists from across Bristol to create the city’s newest outdoor gallery.
The project began in lockdown, with Brislington local RTiiiKA often walking down the lane behind Churchill Road on her way to Sainsbury’s and realising its potential as a 100 metre-long canvas.
Listen to RTiiiKA talk about Mural Alleyway in the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:
RTiiiKA told the Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast that the alleyway “really stood out… As a mural artist myself, I thought there were so many places to paint here, this has to happen.”
Before brandishing a paint brush, RTiiiKA contacted as many people along Churchill Road as possible to ask permission to paint their property.
Artists were then then recruited for the project, including Billy Colours, MernyWernz, Penfold, Peachy Hannah, Tanith Gould, Yoli Ward, Tilda Scoot and Hannah Cotton.
Drab garage doors and unfinished brickwork has now been replaced by the likes of abstract geometric shapes, zebras riding a quadruple tandem bicycle, a huge smiley face and a sunbather on the beach.
“Bristol in general has so embraced street art but Brislington is a bit of a forgotten corner,” said RTiiiKA, also the founder of the Bristol Womxn Mural Collective, a group that hosts monthly paint jams as well as giving advice, support and visibility for women working in street art.
“I think that the way the city is designed means that if you don’t have a reason to come to Brislington, you’re not going to come here.
“So I’m hoping that this project gets more people here, and shows them it’s a really nice neighbourhood and it’s got great people.”
Here are a few of the pieces along Mural Alleyway, with RTiiiKA promising plenty more to come:
RTiiiKA standing in front of a collaboration piece with Penfold on Mural Alleyway – photo: Martin Booth
All photos & video: Martin Booth
Read more: My Bristol Favourites: Rosa ter Kuile
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