Harlow is going through this massive bout of revitalization, with lots of little projects being done all throughout the town in order to bring life back to things that have otherwise not been touched in a while. Before the end of the last year, a bunch of blue boarding walls have been put up across the back of Harlow Town Centre, to protect the walk from the anticipated destruction of the buildings behind the walls, which need to come down for re-building. Harlow then put on a Street Art Festival with the help of MurWalls LIVE to bring some color and fun to these boards, creating a real sense of community and life at the back of town.
Though the event itself wasn’t very well advertised and many people at the front of town, the Water Gardens, didn’t even know it was on, those that did come across it were full of joy and excitement! MurWalls LIVE brought over fifty artists, all given different size bits of walls that went from the back of the town, across to the Harvey Centre entrance, and to the side where you can drive in. I was surprised the boards along the main walk, where there are some shops, weren’t also being painted, but am glad that there is some art along the back! I run a Pokemon Go group that walks along this route and the back of town, where the painting has been done, has been the worst bit of the town centre for a long time – so it’s fantastic to see it full of life.
MurWalls LIVE had a section, hosted by the Cockney Green, that allowed children of the community to come and paint a bit of the wall. Robin and Amelia put on their health-and-safety gear, picked out stencils for the ocean themed work of art about climate change. Amelia did a big jellyfish, and was able to sign it. The person manning this area was very helpful and gave out a lot of great tips! Robin did a seahorse, with lots of line work using some of the big marker pens. It is fantastic to have such a great community vibe to this work!
Many of the other street artists with MurWalls LIVE were creating their designs throughout the day, allowing us to walk around and watch them as they worked. Everyone was very friendly and the vibes of the place were great. There was a DJ playing music to one side, along with a few food trucks. Dann and I picked up some pizza in the late afternoon when we returned to see the updated work (and play Pokemon Go as it was a community day). There were also little events throughout the day, though there was no timeline that I could find online (another advertising issue, I suppose). I caught the very end of a Hip Hop group dancing, and then saw them perform later, where they danced as the music grew with them. It was very interesting! At the end of the evening, the street artists cleaned up all of their art supplies and everything was sort of revealed! I am hoping the street art stays in good condition as it adds so much to the back of Harlow Town.
You can check out our other Days Out to see what else we’ve been up too!