Buckland Hill artwork

The railway bridge at Buckland Hill is looking stunning after Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) worked with local students and an artist to create eye catching street art.

Students from local schools; Maidstone Grammar School for Girls, Maplesden Noakes and Mid Kent College worked with street artist Graham Upton to create a mural about what Maidstone means to them.

Cllr Claudine Russell, Lead Member for Leisure and Arts at MBC said:

“Up to 12 students from each school and the college took part in initial design workshops. They were shown some basic techniques of street art, how to create letters and develop their own unique style before being challenged to come up with an image to include in the mural.

“We asked all students to think about what Maidstone means to them, the parts they like best and what matters to them as a young person growing up here. It has been very interesting to see what they came up with.

The workshops were led by Graham who then combined the students individual design ideas into a single mural. Students were then invited to spend a day on site learning how to recreate their designs using spray paints and helping to create the finished mural on the bridge.

Murals were created between 25 April and 3 May and have all been covered with anti-graffiti coating to ensure they stay looking good for many years to come.

The project has been supported by various organisations; Kent Community Rail Partnership (CRP), Network Rail (permission to use their wall for the mural), four students from Grow 19 helped with the whitewash base coat and Castledene Transport who provided additional funding which paid for the anti-graffiti coating.

Gary Outram, Project Office at Kent CRP said:

“We are really grateful for the opportunity to be involved in the project and the support we have received from Network Rail, Grow 19 and Castledene Transport to deliver the mural. The students have created a vibrant celebration of Maidstone.”

Funding from the national Safer Streets initiative has been used on the project to help involve local young people in brightening up the town.