How one Arts Society got involved in an arts project on the streets

Street art is a democratic art form, free in expression and inclusive in nature. Caroline Wheater discovers a street art project in Plymouth that has been transforming neglected places, with a little help from The Arts Society South Devon

Over the past decade, street art has become so present in cities across the world that walking tours have sprung up, guiding visitors to the best spots. In London, Shoreditch is the epicentre, with ephemeral creations and permanent murals; spot the breakdancing soldier on Brick Lane, the dizzying diva on Whitby Street and the rainbow-coloured I Don’t Like This Anymore on Ebor Street. As a consequence, this area, once considered run down, has become a magnet for art followers. 

In other cities across the UK, it’s a similar story. At the heart of the movement is Bristol, Banksy’s home turf, where his 2006 work, Well Hung Lover, can still be seen on Frogmore Street. 

The ripple effect has reached Plymouth too. 

There, since 2020, the public art group Plymouth Artists Together (PAT) has been applying street art to soften and humanise forlorn bridges, ugly substations, forgotten buildings, old subways and building site hoardings. Not only is the art arresting, residents report it makes the areas they feature in feel safer too.

Taking action

Local Mike Vosper founded PAT in response to seeing such neglected spots. ‘It started with a bridge in the Stoke neighbourhood; I painted daisies over some antisocial wording. Locals joined in and I thought, if I get this ball rolling, will others help? And that’s just what happened.’

Mike now works with Plymouth City Council, private landlords and local businesses to produce legal street art and open-air art galleries in public spaces. The PAT Facebook page is vital to its promotion and has over 2,000 followers and 60 artists involved. This includes 15 professional street artists and four muralists who are paid for their work; in addition, 40 home artists contribute for the sheer fun of it.

The result is a flowering of colour and imagery across the city, from outdoor galleries on Union Street and at Millbay and Honicknowle, to large-scale murals by figures such as SpraySaint, who renewed Whitleigh footbridge with murals of a fox, squirrel and badger. 

'Some people like the photorealistic paintings, others the abstract, but everyone’s loving it,’ comments Mike. One of the latest murals is on the side of a National Grid substation on Buckwell Street. Dubbed Siren’s Song, it’s also by SpraySaint and features a mermaid luring a sailing ship onto the rocks – a play on the city’s coastal history in a fresh composition. ‘We don’t want the same old, same old. There’s more to Plymouth than Smeaton’s Tower,’ says Mike.

Of course, all this takes money: for materials such as paints, brushes and plywood boards, scaffolding, materials for mounting and maintaining the works, and for payments to professional artists. Mike is constantly fundraising via an ongoing Crowdfunder appeal. Early on, he applied to The Arts Society South Devon for a £500 grant, encouraged by member Dr Elizabeth Mansfield. The donation paid for a mural of cuddly monsters on a substation at Bath Place West, much to the delight of local schoolchildren. 

The Society made another contribution in 2022, as Chair Jane Howlett explains: ‘Sadly we lost Lizzie and, because this was very much her project, we donated £500 to PAT in her memory. The initiative has so many people involved, from the retired to children and those with learning difficulties – it ticks all the boxes of going into the community, reaching and empowering people through art and helping them to build confidence.’

Helping hands 

The second Arts Society South Devon donation has funded a new collection of paintings for the Union Street Random Art Corner, replacing those that had become worn. They were created earlier this year by a group of 11, mostly amateur, artists who met once a week for six weeks at Leadworks community space in Stonehouse. The workshops were led by artist and teacher Teri Turner. ‘During our time together, individuals began to come out of their shells, to share ideas and express themselves,’ she says. ‘Everyone who completed a piece felt they had accomplished something huge and were thrilled to have taken part. Now, I always smile when I go past that corner.’

Meanwhile, Mike spends much of his free time power-washing walls, an activity that the probation service helps with, providing crews to prepare surfaces. ‘It’s a nice project to work on, and many return with their children to show them how they helped on the mural.’

Finding money to continue PAT’s work is a fire that needs constant stoking, and official arts funding is hard to get. ‘If everyone who liked a piece of street art here donated the price of a cup of coffee to PAT, several times a year, it would make all the difference,’ says Mike, which is something The Arts Society South Devon truly understands.

Find out more!

The Arts Society South Devon: theartssocietysouthdevon.org.uk

PAT: plymouthartiststogether.com