New diversity mural planned for Sutton Town Centre

The new mural will be made up of a number of panels that represent and celebrate Sutton’s ethnically diverse communities, 23% of which are made up of minority ethnic communities. The artwork will initially be sited on the Sutton College wall facing St Nicholas Way with the installation method meaning it can be moved to other sites around the borough in the future.

The design and representation of each of the panels will be agreed with local artists who will also showcase the talent and diversity within Sutton’s communities. There will be a major engagement exercise on the design, including with community groups, the voluntary sector and the wider public.

Engaging with black and minority ethnic residents and artists in Sutton will be key to ensuring the public art installation represents those communities, as well as providing a form of art that residents can relate to and get involved with. 

The Council are looking for bids for this commission from suitably experienced artists or artist collectives, who will engage with members of Sutton’s Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities in order to develop, design and produce this mural-style piece of public art.The procurement process for the commission is open until 6 April 2021. Full details can be found here.

Councillor Steve Cook, the Council’s Lead Member for Arts, Heritage & Cultural Services, said:

“This exciting, new piece of art in Sutton Town Centre will highlight the borough’s commitment to inclusion and promote equality and diversity. 

“The growing diversity of our communities and the richness that this brings play a vital part in making Sutton a great place to live, work and raise a family. This installation will reveal the importance of Sutton’s diverse cultural heritage and history. 

”This new piece of public art will start to tell the story and make these issues visible for the first time in Sutton. There have been so many positive comments from people in the community already and I can’t wait to see the final piece”.