Take a walk on the WILD side
STUNNING STREET ART MURALS IN SPON ST
NEW street art celebrating Coventry’s urban wildlife has been revealed. The striking mural by Curtis Hylton shows a fox family interweaved with roses and a peregrine falcon against a leafy backdrop.
It can be found at 27 Spon Street on the wall of IDP Architects and opposite the city’s Skydome arena. The artwork received a positive response on social media.
Facebook commenter Shane Lynch wrote: “This thing is immense, great piece of work.”
Louise Warren added: “WOW! Very talented artist. X.”
“Top work,” and “Love this,” was the verdict of @Aaronlaw92 on Twitter. The piece was produced by local group Street Art Strategy (SAS) and shows species that can be found here.
It’s also part of the City of Culture ‘Green Futures’ campaign which focuses on biodiversity and wildlife and aims to showcase Coventry’s hidden nature. A blog about the scheme by programme manager Amanda Roberts had stated: “The National Lottery Heritage Fund invested £3m for us to develop a natural heritage strand to the City of Culture programme. Green Futures is our response.
“It’s a project driven by contemporary art that finds new ways for the city’s diverse communities to explore Coventry’s natural heritage and landscape. We’re working with partners in other sectors to create activities that really engage and excite people.” Street Art Strategy are also behind the ‘In Paint We Trust’ initiative, also part of the City of Culture celebrations. Since May 2021 the group has helped transform city walls into vibrant murals bursting with colour, with support from the Coventry Business Improvement District (BID) & Coventry City of Culture Trust.
Examples of their work include the Ira Aldridge mural by the Belgrade Theatre and one showing balloons which spell out ‘I Love Cov.’ Michael Batchelor, from Street Art Strategy, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) he believes the works will have a lasting impact in Coventry. “It reflects now the youthful city that it is,” he said.
It’s a project driven by contemporary art that finds new ways for the city’s diverse communities to explore Coventry’s natural heritage