Aylesbury Garden Town champions local art

Aylesbury Garden Town has unveiled four striking new murals as part of a series of improvement projects at Aylesbury Railway Station, working in partnership with Chiltern Railways. The murals were designed by award-winning Bucks artists, Dan ‘Decreate’ Wilson and Teakster.

Each of the artworks reflects a different Aylesbury Garden Town theme – Heritage, celebrating the history of Aylesbury as a market town and including the renowned Aylesbury Ducks; Community and Culture, featuring the Waterside Theatre and the inspirational names of the statues in The Exchange, I am Strong, I am Free, I am Me;  Sustainable Travel, showing the planned Gardenway and reflecting the Paralympic legacy, with wheelchair athletes in training; and Nature, representing some of the local native plants and wildlife, including the Black Poplar Tree, Brown Hairstreak Butterfly and Red Kites.

The murals have transformed four old concrete panels, to give the station a brighter and more vibrant feel.

Cllr Gareth Williams, the new Chair of the Aylesbury Garden Town Strategic Oversight Board commented: “We are delighted to unveil these beautiful murals which provide an uplift for the station and capture the key elements of what being a garden town means, celebrating Aylesbury’s past, present and future. We’re also really pleased to showcase the work of local artists Dan Wilson and Teakster, who are great examples of the incredible talent we have in the arts and culture sector in Bucks.”

Aylesbury Garden Town worked in partnership with Chiltern Railways to deliver the murals. Rob Munday, Chiltern Railways’ Area Manager for North Buckinghamshire, said: “Chiltern Railways are delighted to be working with Aylesbury Garden Town to make the station even better. By collaborating together we have installed new bicycle racks, new planting, and now new artwork that celebrates Aylesbury’s heritage, contemporary culture, and sustainable future. We look forward to continuing to work closely with Aylesbury Garden Town and our other local partners to make the station an even more central part of the local community.”

Artist Teakster designed the intricate stencilled backgrounds for the station murals. These also link to Aylesbury and the themes, with the background on the Heritage panel reflecting the patterns on the tiles in the historic St Mary’s Church. Teakster said: “Aylesbury used to be known mainly as a commuter town, but now it’s changing, with people moving to the town and greater diversity. We should celebrate those differences because it makes Aylesbury a more interesting place to live in and we wanted the murals to give a sense of the old evolving into the new.”

Dan Wilson, Artist in Residence at Wycombe Arts Centre, painted the detailed illustrations within the murals, with brushes and spray cans. He said this caused a bit of a stir with some passengers, “It was fun to bring spray cans onto the platforms and use them for fine arts and challenge people’s perceptions. Graffiti is often a problem at stations, but we were able to demonstrate that spray cans can be used in a much more positive way too.”

Aylesbury Garden Town have released a video with the story behind the murals which you can watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErzmaLCidnw

The murals have been officially unveiled to coincide with Bucks Open Weekend, celebrating arts and culture across the county. There are a range of exciting activities happening to mark the event, which runs from 22-25 July. You can find out more at: www.buckinghamshireculture.org/Open-Weekend