Brightening up Brighton

Brighton draws visitors and tourists from across the globe, but the first impression of the city when you leave Brighton Station leaves a lot to be desired.

This is especially true if you head straight into the vibrant North Laine via the Trafalgar Street underpass. Although only a few steps before you reach the bars, cafes and shops, the gloomy walk under the station has not been the most welcoming entrance.

Jan Etches, General Manager at the Brighton Toy and Model Museum, has been on a mission to brighten up the area (sometimes literally cleaning up graffiti and vandalism), and her work has been hugely successful.

The museum has invested heavily in its façade and doorway to enhance the area – and the latest project has been to create a beautiful new mural opposite the station entrance.

Train company Southern has partnered with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, artist SinnaOne and the Brighton Toy and Model Museum to create a large-scale mural at the top of Trafalgar Street, underneath Brighton station, in a bid to bring more foot traffic to the city’s cultural district.

The eye-catching 10-metre-long mural features local fauna and flora, wildlife and attractions – best representing the city’s identity and biodiversity, painted by a group of young people from across the city.

The project was part of Grow Wild on the Railway, aiming to build connections between local young people and station partner groups along the Southern Rail network, whilst championing UK native plants and fungi. Supported by Grow Wild, the national outreach programme of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Tom Easdown, Southern’s Head of Stations, said: “Our partnership with Kew through the Your Station, Your Community scheme is a great way to celebrate communities like those in the vibrant North Laine, and this mural does just that – adding a splash of colour which will not only look fabulous but hopefully encourage people to take the scenic route to the sea.”

Kew’s Grow Wild on the Railway scheme was made possible through Southern’s Your Station, Your Community fund, having received £27,250 to support a range of creative projects led by young people at stations across the Southern network, including at nearby Haywards Heath, Hove and London Road stations where artists Esther Lower and Mia Jones have spruced up a disused hut on the platform with colourful floral spray paint, forming part of a newly created “pocket park” at the station.

Artist SinnaOne (Daryl Bennett), who has recently worked on a huge mural at the front of the Brighton Youth Centre, worked with a group of young people aged 18-26 through several workshops teaching key spray paint and mural techniques. For some of them, like 19-year-old Reggie Rai Lace, it is their first project in public.

The work coincides with the Toy Museum’s huge project, also part-funded by Southern, to revamp the main entrance and underpass with improved lighting and a much brighter, more open entrance to the museum.

The museum submitted the project bid to RBG Kew’s Grow Wild on the Railway programme, and also received an additional £1,000 from the Community Rail Network to make the plans a reality.

Brighton Toy and Model Museum Manager Jan Etches said: “This project is about inspiring local pride and creativity while continuing to brighten the area.

“The new mural complements the wider regeneration of the museum frontage and underpass beautifully. It will make the station approach a place that feels alive, positive and welcoming.”

Peter Wingate-Saul, Trustee of the North Laine Community association added, “As we celebrate fifty years since our neighbourhood was saved from wholesale demolition to make way for a flyover, it is cheering to see this colourful mural taking shape at the portal to the North Laine, at the top of what has historically been a rather gloomy underpass, now much-improved by the Toy Museum’s new facade and lighting.”

The mural was completed on Friday, February 13 after three weeks of painting by Daryl Bennett and his team of young artists.

If you haven’t visited the Brighton Toy and Model Museum recently, it is well worth a visit.

It is also an amazing venue for corporate and private events. Contact Jan at jan@brightontoymuseum.co.uk for more information.

Tel: 01273 749 494

brightontoymuseum.co.uk