We are pleased to announce Matt Copson and Alastair MacKinven Reading Community Outreach Mural Workshop, a new temporary public artwork made in collaboration with the local community.
Painted onto the tenth floor windows of Thames Tower, a regenerated office tower block in central Reading, this stunning outward facing glow-in-the-dark mural can be seen for two miles and combines the untapped creative energies of local youths.
Copson and MacKinven’s frieze-like ‘extravaganza’ is an explosion of energy that attempts to create a conversation about art in the town, in part by combining the iconoclasm of the 1990s London art group BANK with the radical political subject matter of Eddie Peake.
The artists say: ‘We must admit, we learnt far more about the societal impact of art from the local kids in Reading than they did from us. We relished the opportunity to bring culture to youth and youth to culture, to bring discourse not discord. These young punks have created a shining tenth-floor beacon of positivity – channelling motifs from the streets alongside knowing nods to best-period Picasso. Who says that community art has to be boring?’
