The Wycombe Arts Centre Street Gallery was inspired by the global street art movement and celebrates skill, passion and colour while lifting the spirits of passersby. This area (around Desborough Road) is so vibrant and full of great people that we wanted to give something back. We also wanted our physical environment to reflect the creativity in and around the area.
Painted in August 2019 to coincide with the inaugural Desborough Carnival, our first street gallery features huge, exciting murals by a diverse mix of people, ranging from absolute beginners to professional artists. We went out of our way to bring together a number of local and guest artists with different backgrounds, reflecfting the multi-faith, multi-cultural and multi-talented town that we live in.This first phase of “colouring-in town” included the following art pieces:
- The Borough Chameleon by Decreate
- Magpies by L127
- Music by Baps @ JBArtz
- Chained Swan by Dacarter
- Smile, Dream and Create by Dacarter and Smiler
- Tribal Colours by Stanislav Genov
- Our Culture (Red Lion) by Si and Oli
- Bloody Fusion by Teakster
- Roses On Repeat by Jane Dolgopolova
- Alternative Signs by Freddie Churchill
- VOYDERPM by Voyder and 45RPM
Our artists also worked on some shutters for the local shops, including:
- La Koko Robot by Kalkalata and Decreate
- Central Aid Magpies by L127 and Decreate
Arts Centre artist-in-residence and street gallerry organiser Dan Wilson of Decreate said, “The reaction to all the artwork while we were painting was magical, from bus drivers tooting and taxi drivers waving to students and shoppers telling us we brightened up their day. One resident who lives opposite even came to thank us for improving the view from their flat! This area gets a lot of bad press and has done since I was little, which is very frustrating. Hopefully this goes a little way towards improving the feel and rep of the ‘borough.”
The street gallery will be updated with new pieces by different artists as time goes on and we hope to secure more sites around town for other stunning pieces of public art, so keep your eyes peeled!.
Please note that the gallery is paintable BY PERMISSION ONLY. If you’re interested in taking part, please contact the art department at Wycombe Arts Centre.
Our street art gallery was made possible thanks to HWBIDCo and Wycombe District Council. Special thanks and big love to all of the artists involved.
