More than 5,000 murals across the UK will be digitally recorded as part of an ambitious new initiative led by arts education charity Art UK, which will add street artwork to its free public database.
Some of Banksy’s works, which are spread across the country in places like Brighton and Bristol, should be included (Art UK’s database already includes some of the street artist’s elusive works, including one from 2021). Convict escaping from Reading Prison which shows a prisoner escaping from the now-defunct prison). Works from Northern Ireland, where some of the UK’s most notable murals can be found, are also expected to be digitised, including around 300 large-scale images plastered on walls in Unionist and Catholic communities.
Volunteer researchers and photographers will document and capture the works, which Art UK describes as “two-dimensional murals”. They add that “three-dimensional sculptural works of concrete, brick, wood, tile and other materials will also be included.” The aim is to bring to the fore the artists behind some of the UK’s most visible street art, whilst protecting it for future generations.
Many of Northern Ireland’s murals are linked to decades of violent unrest between Catholic and Protestant communities, known as the Troubles, so documenting them is a task that requires special sensitivity. In its preparatory notes for the programme, Art UK states that in preparation, it “sought advice from a number of local experts, to ensure we considered local sensitivities and understood the challenges that might be involved”.
The notes add that staff “spoke to Bill Rolston, emeritus professor at the University of Ulster’s Transitional Justice Institute, who has been documenting and photographing painted political murals since 1981 and has published several books on the subject. He supports the idea that Art UK graves murals in Northern Ireland and is willing to share his extensive experience and information.”
William Kelly, Tom Kelly and Kevin Hasson The Gasoline Bomber (1969) is an example of Northern Ireland’s murals, many of which are linked to stories of cultural and political unrest. This particular mural references the Battle of the Bogside, a riot that took place in Derry that is often seen as the start of the 30-year conflict known as the Troubles.
© the copyright holders. Photo credit: Frances Price / Art UK
The charity will also work with Belfast Exposed, a community-based photography learning centre, on a photography project which aims to enable the public to document the murals for themselves and bring them together in displays that convey how they feel about the murals of your area.
Katey Goodwin, Art UK’s executive vice president and director of community engagement, said in a statement: “From shopping centers and railway stations to churches and museums, we will be celebrating the thousands of painted murals and sculptures in our communities. Many of them are at risk of deterioration or demolition, so the work of our staff and volunteers will ensure that a permanent record is created.”
The three-year project will be supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, which has contributed £250,000; other funders include the Pilgrim Trust and Historic England. Community activities devised by CultureStreet, which focuses on engaging young people with the arts, VocalEyes, which promotes access to the arts for blind and visually impaired people, will be part of a public engagement programme.
Art UK is the “online home” and database of more than 300,000 works held in more than 3,400 institutions in the United Kingdom.
