Paint Fest: See some of the amazing street art painted across Swindon

Over 50 renowned muralists and street artists descended on Swindon throughout Saturday and Sunday and set about transforming drab walls, plain hoardings and dreary wooden boards into colourful works of art. 

When the dust had settled, and paint cans had run dry, dozens of abstract shapes, high-quality graffiti, portraits and vibrant animal paintings were left behind in various locations throughout the town centre and Rodbourne. 

This was all part of the first-ever Swindon Paint Fest which organisers hoped would help to regenerate and bring a new lease of life to key areas of Swindon and raise some community spirit along the way. 

Some of the artwork from the first-ever Swindon Paint Fest Photos: Dave Cox and Swindon Paint Fest (Image: Dave Cox and Swindon Paint Fest)

The festival was positively met by members of the public, with most of them saying that something like this was 'exactly what Swindon needed'.

Following the weekend, which consisted of live painting, talks, and a trail of existing art, organisers Caryn Koh, Sally Taylor and Helen Salter reflected on the support they had received.

"Generally, the event has been a resounding success! It was indeed more than I could have imagined it being our first street art festival in Swindon," said Caryn Koh. 

"However, it was undeniably due to the community effort that rallied together to make it work and the amazing artists that has graced us with their talents."

Many residents gave up walls of their own homes and businesses for artists to transform and inSwindon Bid, Swindon Borough Council and the Premier Inn all gave up some hoardings. 

Money for the festival was fundraiser through donations from members of the public, other businesses like Rudi's Bar and Dominos Pizza donated food and drink to keep the artists going for two days. 

Swindon Children's Scrapstore also donated the very paint that was used. 

The before and after shot of the Queen Street wall after Swindon Paint Fest transformed it (Image: Swindon Paint Fest)

Artist Martin Travers transformed a wall on Queen Street into a massive tribute for Nirmal Purja, the Nepali/British mountain climber who recently broke all the world records for climbing the 14 highest peaks in the Himalayas in seven months.

He said: "I wanted to paint a mural that would resonate with the Nepali community in Swindon and give them something in town to look at and have a sense of pride.  

"I have to give massive thanks to Swindon Paint Fest and especially Caryn Koh for making this mural possible and arranging everything I needed and all the locals that showed love during the process."

InSwindonBID and Swindon Hub, which hosted an exhibition of some of the artists' work, have both talked highly of being part of the event. 

Angie Blackford, inSwindon BID operations manager, said: "We were delighted to sponsor six Artists, at this incredible Paint Fest, who painted individual largescale pieces of art outdoors in Wharf Green.

"All our visitors were thrilled to see the live artwork being created and were excited to be involved in the process."

Some of the artwork from the first-ever Swindon Paint Fest Photos: Dave Cox and Swindon Paint Fest (Image: Dave Cox and Swindon Paint Fest)

A spokesperson for Swindon Hub said: "It's been fantastic for us to have been involved in facilitating certain parts of Swindon Paint Fest!

"Having the legend himself, Ken White in to talk about how this type of mural art has such a positive impact on a town was really amazing.

"We love seeing our Swindon town centre bustling with people and life, that's part of our vision as a community space and we feel honoured to have been a part of such an amazing creative and positive event that's helped towards that goal."

Caryn has released a full statement on the Paint Fest Facebook page, which you can view here.