Two murals have been painted on the Western side of Corsham’s Martingate Shopping Centre. Over the past three weeks, two artists have been working hard to complete the murals they designed for a competition early in 2017.

The brief was to design an innovative mural reflecting Corsham’s culture and heritage. The commissioned artist is Rob Cowan, known for his illustrative work centred around narrative and storytelling. Rob used his skill in designing busy, narrative scenes, to create a mural which celebrates Corsham’s vibrant history as well as its modern day community, commerce and industry. The mural covers the western side of the Co-op; placed to ensure that it can be enjoyed by residents and tourists alike. Rob learnt a lot about Corsham’s history and was particularly interested in  town’s underground tunnels. He enjoyed chatting with local people as he was working, sometimes in challenging weather conditions.

The second mural is created by scenic artist Phoebe Tonkin, and presents a beautiful vibrant image of a Peacock. Though the original commission was for just one mural, Phoebe’s colourful depiction of Corsham’s unofficial representative was too charming to pass up, and can be seen on a smaller wall to the left of Rob’s creation.

The murals have been generously commissioned by owner of Martingate Centre William Hall, who has worked closely with the Pound Arts Centre to bring this important project to its completion. As well as Pound Arts, the selection panel for the mural commission included members from the Peacock Arts Trail, Corsham Town Council and the Martingate Centre.

Russ Tunney, Director of Pound Arts, says:

‘We were really excited to support this mural project and believe that the two artists have created pieces of work that truly represent and celebrate this historic and creative town. We hope that local people as well visitors to our town will enjoy the murals for many years come and will encourage lots of conversations about what Corsham means to them.’

The murals are now complete, the official unveiling having taken place on Tuesday 19^th December 2017.