PAT URBAN ART PROJECT

Aim

We aim to regenerate Plymouth, one wall at a time

If you have noticed a small piece of quirky art in an unloved area, or an amazing mural on a wall in Plymouth, then the chances are that it is a PAT project! 

History 

Since April 2020, PAT has worked to regenerate Plymouth one wall at a time, by engaging with the local community and Artists, of all ages and abilities. We have received cultural and media acclaim for our mural projects and we want to continue transforming neglected areas in Plymouth. We have had over 1800 volunteers/members join the public FB group, since August 2020.

Who we work with

Plymouth City Council. Private Landlords. Local businesses. Coyde Construction. Western Power. BT.  Urban Splash. The City Centre company.

We also work closely with the Probation Service, offering invaluable experiences, where the clients can help to clean up and prepare forlorn areas, then return later to see the creative transformations that have taken place. This also helps keep costs down.

Past projects

PAT prides itself on being able to encourage artists of all ages and capabilities. We do this in numerous ways: 

Building site hoardings

In the past we have been given permission from PCC, Coyde Construction and Urban Splash, to use their temporary building site hoardings as an art space. 

We share the spaces between graffiti style, street art practitioners, which gives the artists a chance to practise without fear of  prosecution.

Street Galleries

We also offer opportunities to artists who are unable to paint in public, by providing them with a plywood board to paint at home etc. which can then be mounted at a later date. We have various Street Galleries, our latest being fish shaped boards. These are installed in a predominant landmark area on Plymouth Hoe. 

Permanent murals

These are normally done on private houses or utility buildings. They are paid commissions, done by professional artists. 

A few examples; of earlier funded projects:  

A stunning mural of bees by Spray Saint in Victoria Park, St Budeaux was joint funded by Pollenize, Western Power and a local councillor, to create more awareness of the importance of pollinators in the eco system. 

A crowd funded, thought provoking mural of local hero Mark Ormerod MBE was painted on a private home by veteran military artist Kevin Preston to recognise all the charitable and inspirational work that Mark has done since sustaining life changing injuries in Afghanistan in 2007. 

The original plan was to use the monies raised to pay the artist and cover expenses for scaffolding and paint, but due to the nature of the mural, the scaffold company and Johnstones paint would not accept any payment, as well as Kevin, the artist, so all the funds raised went to support Mark’s chosen charity Reorg which supports veterans.

Other permanent murals have been organised collaboratively with the local community that uses the area, with invaluable help, support and donations from local councillors in all the areas, including the Friends of Ham Woods and the Friends of Lower Side. Some of these pieces are really stunning. 

Home Office funded projects

PAT Artists worked sensitively with the Keyham community on two mural projects, since the terrible incident that happened there. We find creative engagement is central to successful reparation work.  We worked with Keyham Vital Sparks on two distinctive mural projects, one was to ‘BrightenMyDay’ @ Biddick Drive.

Two artists worked closely with the Wolseley Wanderers, a local youth group, to create an Ocean Mural about pollution. 

Small and quirky 

A good way to build confidence and introduce artists to painting in public, is by finding quirky and unloved areas for them to paint,  in unexpected places. We tend to organise small groups so that people feel comfortable working together.

Recently a women's group produced a sea themed collection on the shell of an old building. 80% of these artists have never painted before in public. They were nervous but after the event they were all inspired to do more! We are slowly building a base of up-skilled local artists that are learning to express themselves in ways that other people can relate to.

Exhibitions

We organise regular sales and popular exhibitions, where local amateur artists can sell their work, we sold almost £6000 worth of artwork in the last two silent auctions and in the process raised £600 for our chosen charities. The exhibition is staffed by artist volunteers, and we invite all exhibitors to attend and meet the public. In some cases, this is an enormous boost to confidence and really helps their mental health. The feedback from participants and the public is very positive. 

Our Campaign 

Many of the  above projects have been partly funded by local councillors, (who have access to small pots of money for community projects). However, we want our own funds, as these Community pots service lots of other needy groups and projects. 

This appeal will help us to get ‘Match Funding’ from PCC, so any amount will be greatly appreciated.  We know that money is tight at this time however, by providing us with a few pounds, We are in effect able to double your contribution, using this method. So your small donation is very valuable to this project, as it is the small amounts that will get us there in the end.  

If this crowd fund is successful and we have a ready pot of money, it will enable us to be more reactive to places that need some love. It will get big murals out into the suburban areas of Plymouth. At the moment a lot of work is in the town centre. However, we don't want to just do this for the tourists! We will continue to paint small, quirky pieces in unexpected spaces, that will bring a surprised smile to your face.

It will also give us the chance to build recreational spray art walls in local parks, so street art can be taken out of the dark alleys and underpasses and into the light - and be celebrated for all its beauty. 

We have come a long way in the last two years and now we feel it is time to let our track record do the talking for us, as we up our game. We really need your help to do this, please donate.

Please see our Facebook, Insta or website for more of our projects so you can take confidence in knowing that your donation will be very well spent. 

Plymouth's creativity is thriving. Other famous street Artists want to come and paint here now. Help us to showcase this fantastic work to the wider world :) 

If YOU would like to join the group, commission a new project, or simply get in touch, you can find us online. All welcome :)

This project successfully funded on 15th January 2024