My Maidstone Public Artwork

Two stunning new pieces of temporary artwork have been created and installed in the former Co-Op unit and the former M&S store in Week Street by Maidstone Borough Council.

Last Autumn, two workshops were held at Maidstone Museum where local people were asked to share their thoughts about what Maidstone means to them. The second workshop was held during half term and lots of children took part, creating colourful images of their favourite activities and places.

Artist Richard Jeferies then gathered all the information and drawings together to create a bespoke artwork combining as many of the ideas as possible into two vibrant artworks. These were then installed into two empty units on Week Street just before Christmas.

Cllr Martin Round, Chair of the Economic Regeneration & Leisure Committee at MBC said: “This is a great way to brighten our high streets, any empty units look so much more inviting to visitors while new tenants are found. By brightening these spaces up with colourful artwork we hope to create a more positive look to the town centre and encourage new businesses to use the spaces. The artwork really is stunning, well done to everyone involved.”

MBC would like to thank the Co-Op, M&S and the building owners for granting permission to install the artworks.

The funding for this project was allocated to councils across England from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Welcome Back Fund, to support the safe return to high streets and help build back better from the pandemic.