Southside Shopping Centre in looking to turn its ugly west entrance into a street art destination by commissioning a local artist to produced a “community curated masterpiece”.
The owners of the centre in Wandsworth have put out a call for artists and are offering a £17,000 budget to bring what is currently a large, plain brick wall into a “vibrant, colourful and welcoming space.”
If you’re interested, though, you’ll need to be quick: the deadline is the end of this month.
Owners of the center, Landsec and Invesco, are serious in their effort to source the art locally, specifying that the winner live locally and has lived in Wandsworth for at least five years. The mural design is expected to focus on the local areas and its residents.
What’s more, extra points will be given to “a narrative that demonstrates very strong reasoning as to why this artist/organisation wants to celebrate this part of Wandsworth and gives examples of the links and passion for the people and/or place.”
Landsec ran a similar competition in 2022 at Lewisham Shopping Centre and have given one of the murals it commissioned, by local artist Gaurab Thakali, as an example of what it would like to see in Wandsworth. That commissioned coincided with Lewisham being selected as London Borough of Culture, and with Wandsworth chosen as Borough of Culture for 2025, the shopping centre organisation is clearly hoping to contribute in a similar fashion.
If you want to see the exact location of where the mural will be, click here.
Once the deadline of 29 April for “expressions of interest” passes, a shortlist of three to four artists will be given £700 to create a full proposal with mock-ups and a clear plan for making it happen, with a deadline of 8 July. The winner will then be selected on 29 July, with the artwork expected to be in place by the end of October.
Anyone hoping to get shortlisted will need to carry out their own research “into the character, soul and vitality of the area” and will face questions on how that has informed their design. Ultimately, though, the goal is to create something meaningful – and Instagrammable – that “local residents and guests of Southside would be eager to share with friends and families.”
Director of Southside Shopping Centre, Rebecca Ruddle, said of the commission: “Southside is a retail destination that truly reflects the local community in everything we do – from the brand partners we want to attract, to the charity initiatives we create. This latest initiative uses Southside as a platform for artistic impression. I for one can’t wait to see how a Wandsworth story can be interpreted into a mural. It’s all very exciting.”
Have at it, Wandsworth and Putney artists.
Other examples of commissions for Lewisham Shopping Center below. Click to see a better version.
