Street art project to celebrate England v India coming to Bristol
22 August 2014
Today, Bristol based street artist Rob Wheeler has started painting the murals which will greet 15,000 cricket fans to the Bristol County Ground when England play India in the first of the Royal London One Day International series on Monday.
The art work, inspired by the title of the ODI community programme ‘East Meets…The West Country, is a blend of bright colours and bold designs based on English and Indian patterns to celebrate the coming together of the two cultures here in Bristol.
“My Dad was born in India so I felt a real connection when Gloucestershire Cricket approached me about the project.” Artist Rob Wheeler told us. “I decided to base the project on old patterns found in fabrics and retro crockery like Hornsea as they evoke the similar sort of childhood memories in me as smells of cut grass and roast dinners do.”
Rob’s work will act as the spring board for a legacy programme entitled ‘Street:Art’ which will engage with a number of different communities in the months after the International. Directed by Rob, groups will be invited to visit the Bristol County Ground and create their own pieces of art, which will then be displayed around the ground.
“When fans come to the Bristol County Ground on Monday, we want them to have no doubt in their mind that they’re watching cricket in Bristol – and what better way to do that than with street art going up in the ground?” Roz Hutchings, Head of Community Engagement told us.
“The ODI is an amazing opportunity for Bristol to celebrate all that’s amazing about the city – and with 100 million people expected to watch around the world it’s a great advert for the whole region.”
