Swindon street artists start brightening up grey area of town

The location, known formally as industrial site Kimmerfields, is being regenerated by Swindon Borough Council who have owned the land since March 2021.

Regeneration works are set continue for the foreseeable future with estimations of seven years until full construction is finished.

In the meantime, the development has commissioned the road to the town centre to being decorated with colourful murals painted by 21 local artists.

We manages to speak with a couple of the artists contributing to the project.

Sue's brightly coloured mural, complete with representations of Swindon landmarks. (Image: Newsquest)

Sue Bardwell, 49, has been allocated nine of these grey boards to paint a massive mural and has nearly finished her bright contribution to the road.

“I have chosen to paint the art and culture in Swindon, so I have used venues and organisations that support the visual arts, theatre music, and I have incorporated them into my design,” she said.

As an art teacher herself at various locations such as New College, Sue believes that the colourful additions are a great addition to the town.

“I think it gives access to people who do not normally engage with the arts and that has been evident from the reactions of the people passing by,” she said.

“They get a positive feeling and enjoy spotting Swindon landmarks within the murals where they themselves have been.”

Finishing touches: Sue has almost finished her mural with just a few more alterations to make. (Image: Newsquest)

Sue is part of the first of three phases over the coming months that will stagnate the art so that new additions are always being added to the boards.

Another artist contributing to the first phase is Sarah Harris, 55, who has also nearly finished her own painting on the hoardings.

“This is going to be the main walkthrough to the town centre when Fleming Way shuts down, so if we didn’t paint it, it would be one long grey walkway,” she said.

“It is better if we can brighten it up and bring a bit of colour to people’s lives instead.”

Majestic masterpiece: Sarah's full mural in all its colourful glory. (Image: Newsquest)

Sarah has had many of her other works displayed around the South West of England, but the Kimmerfields project has a personal meaning to her as she can publicly make an artistic contribution to Swindon.

“It is just always nice to do something in my hometown, as I have done a lot of public art outside of Swindon but most of my art within the town is private, so it nice to see something at home," she said.

Each mural roughly takes a week to complete if the artist is uninterrupted, and several of the new murals on Carfax Street have already been finished for the public to view.