A petition has been started by a local to Askew Road who wants to turn the stretch into a colourful canvass with art etched, sprayed and painted onto its walls. Sound odd? It's based on several other areas and would clearly need the permission of the businesses and residents inside those buildings first!
This is about legal graffitti/art (delete according to taste) and it would certainly be an interesting step in the evolution of this road from its dark days of decline to its award winning emergence as one of London's increasingly talked about corners.
See what you think - and sign on if you think it could work. Happy Friday!
Although I appreciate Modern art there is no need for this on Askew Road. New retailers to the street have actually improved the appearance of shop fronts by not pulling down shutters at night which has made a world of difference to the appearance of the street.
ReplyDeleteHi Chris and readers,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the mention and the feedback. We've had some excellent feedback from the local businesses, including Fran Warde of the Ginger Pig that has signed the petition - we have 67 signatures to far and counting. I would agree that having shop shutters up to help promote the business is great, but is not always practical. In these cases, why not give artists the ability to make the street a creative hub and give a unique feel to the area?
Interesting article from CNN about the positive impact of Street Art and how the Olympic Organisers, LOCOG could have embraced the creative community more to also leave an artistic legacy too -
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/03/opinion/olympics-street-art/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
Bringing more potential customers to the area is key for the local community - we hope that the Art oNA skew project is mutually beneficial to both artists and business owners alike. To help with this I have created a small website with Askew Road info on it, with a view to upload all of the local businesses to promote their shops and products - www.askewroad.org - Feedback welcome on what to add on here.
I agree with Robert and have also noticed some shops not using shutters. This would by far improve the street rather than Street Art which is very subjective. What looks like Art to some people, could look like vandalism to others. And if you don't like the art, TOUGH because there is no escape - it's not like you can leave the art gallery.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I really do applaud your efforts in trying to improve Askew Road. I just feel that effort/money is better spent on encouraging more people to shop in Askew Road by promoting local shops, improving street furniture/lighting, planting trees etc - generally making it a safer and nicer place to walk and shop.