‘Our Community’ a mural celebrating local community. Newhaven
This 95sqm artwork is a full building wrap-around mural, handpainted on the revamped 19th century pub The Jolly Boatman on Lewes Road, Newhaven. The mural was commissioned as part of the Look Again Supergraphics Festival. Titled “Our Community” I designed the artwork as a celebration of the people of Newhaven and what brings them together, through a collection of vignette illustrations which you can discover as you look around the building.
“We’re so grateful to you and the team for breathing life back into the building and making it such a colourful mark on the street. All the hikers and cyclists and families walking by have been pointing and smiling and stopping us to say how glad they are that something positive is happening here. That’s definitely what Dave’s mural has been for us - a sign of positive change.”
The mural was painted over two weeks in June 2024, with my mural painting team: Bella Gomez, David J McMillan, Evergood & Hannah Worsley.
Funding from Newhaven Enterprise Zone (NEZ) will enable the pub to reopen in 2025 with a Lewes brewery set to move in.
“We commissioned Dave for one of our key sites on the Look Again Supergraphic Festival trail, a tricky site as it was still being redeveloped by the owners. He was incredibly understanding and flexible with scheduling changes due to building work.
Once the dates were firmed up, Dave and his talented team arrived and set about preparing and painting their incredible community themed mural, which has now become a beloved artwork for the town, and greets all visitors as they enter the town by car.
We wouldn’t hesitate to use Dave again, he was well organised and an absolute professional for the whole process - from our initial calls, to presenting ideas and working on minor amends, to pulling together a team and everything else in between.”
My thanks to Jack & Flo for letting us paint the building, the contractors onsite for getting the render completed in time for us to paint, to the Look Again festival team for their support and to all the lovely people who stopped by to chat with us.
