Graffiti artists transform seaside wall into mural

7 hours ago

Jenny Kirk,in Great Yarmouthand

Alice Cunningham

Graffiti artists from across the UK and Europe transformed the wall in Great Yarmouth on Saturday

Jenny Kirk/BBC Artists paint murals on a large seaside wall. Some have ladders and stands. A man closest to the camera is spray painting yellow paint on to the black wall. — Graffiti artists from across the UK and Europe transformed the wall in Great Yarmouth on Saturday

Tens of graffiti artists descended on a Norfolk seaside town as part of a mural project that had been 10 years in the making.

More than 70 artists from across the UK and Europe visited Great Yarmouth on Saturday to transform a 500m (546 yds) seafront wall behind the Pleasure Beach.

The event was organised by Reprezent Project Community Interest Company (CIC) which was set up in the town a decade ago, and its chief executive Ruben Cruz said it had been his "dream" to hold this large mural jam.

Artist Nathan Murdoch, who came from Peterborough, said he hoped the work would show graffiti was more than what some deemed as vandalism.

Nathan Murdoch travelled from Peterborough to attend the event

Jenny Kirk/BBC A man smiling at the camera in front of a mural of a crab he has painted. He has short light coloured hair and wears a black T-shirt. — Nathan Murdoch travelled from Peterborough to attend the event

"A lot of us are parents, a lot of us are just normal people and painting's a bit of fun like any other hobby," he explained.

"You'll see a broad contrast of styles from art to traditional graffiti and it all has a place.

"It's wonderful to see."

Murdoch, who recently appeared on Dragon's Den, painted a crab on his section of the wall that was loosely based on the Prodigy's album artwork, The Fat of the Land.

He left his full time job in 2018 and said he had been a professional artist ever since.

"I have painted in Saudi, Dubai, all over Europe, all over England," he added.

"It changed my life and this is all I do now."

Ruben Cruz said the mural jam had been his dream for the past 10 years

Jenny Kirk/BBC A man stands on a hill below a large wall where artists are painting. He is smiling at the camera and has short, dark hair. He has an ear piercing with a hoop through it as well as earpiece for communication, and he is wearing a white T-shirt. — Ruben Cruz said the mural jam had been his dream for the past 10 years

Cruz set up Reprezent Project 10 years ago as a way to empower people and communities to explore their creativity.

He hoped the mural was one of the biggest in East Anglia.

"I have dreamt about this for the last 10 years and now it's here; it's finally happening," he said.

"Reprezent Project has already done historic things in Great Yarmouth like with the Portuguese pavement and other things.

"Today we are making history again and putting this one on the books."

Cruz added that he hoped the mural would help toward the Great Yarmouth's Town of Culture bid and that he would hold the event again next year.

Jamie Jones of Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach said the project was a great way to attract people to the area

Jenny Kirk/BBC A man stands with his back to a large wall where artists are painting. He is smiling and has blond hair. He is wearing a navy blue gilet with a white long-sleeved top underneath. — Jamie Jones of Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach said the project was a great way to attract people to the area

The 70 artists were given their own section on the wall to paint

Jenny Kirk/BBC A wall where artists are painting different sections. The nearest section to the camera depicts the face of a bird of prey. — The 70 artists were given their own section on the wall to paint

Jamie Jones, executive director of Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach, said Cruz had approached him last year with the idea of holding the mural jam.

"It's amazing, what was quite a rundown area has all of a sudden been brought back to life, and you like to think, locals and visitors from afar will come and visit this area," he said.

He added: "It's given a great sense of community.

"You've only got to look at all the locals that have come down and visited today, and the artists that have come from all over Europe and the UK, and that can only put us on the map more and more.

"So stuff like this, I think it helps build the image of the town and as we're looking to obviously be the Town for Culture, it certainly helps with that as well."

Asa Morrison of Visit Great Yarmouth hoped to welcome the event again next year

Jenny Kirk/BBC A man stands on a beach and smiles at the camera. Behind him is a long wall where artists have been painting. He has a thin section of hair on the top of his head while the sides have been shaved. He has a grey beard and is wearing a white shirt. — Asa Morrison of Visit Great Yarmouth hoped to welcome the event again next year

Asa Morrison, chief executive of Visit Great Yarmouth, said it had been great to see the event bringing people to the area.

"We've got artists that have come from the far north, come from right over from the west, they've traveled across the UK," he said.

"We've got people equally that are following the artist, have also taken the opportunity to come over for a long weekend, stayed over in Great Yarmouth.

"So it, it's good for the tourism economy as well as good for the town as well."

He said it was being discussed if the art remained long term, but he said it would be a "great opportunity" to welcome the event back next year.