Chippenham could become the street art capital of Wiltshire

Public Art Chippenham (PAC) is a group of artists, teachers, councillors and business owners whose aim is to brighten up the streets of Chippenham with murals and other artworks.

PAC is currently an unregistered charity, until it has raised enough money to register. We were lucky enough to receive funding from The Arts Society Patricia Fay Fund to commission the first mural from artist Ed Poster (Ed Russell), a very experienced muralist who works internationally as well as nationally and in local cities. Ed was extremely generous in providing the mural for a discounted price.

The mural is sited on the side of Buckles Fish and Chip Shop, adjoining the Bus Station in the Heritage Quarter of the town, and, in consultation with the Heritage Town Team, pays homage to the shop’s position at the terminus of the old canal, as well as acknowledging Chippenham’s historic role as a market town.

Permission was sought from both Wiltshire Council and Chippenham Town Council before work was begun, as we wanted to ensure that the work would remain in place for many years.

Work began in January 2025 and, having been blessed with (mainly) good weather, it was completed four days later, using spray paint to ensure a consistent, durable finish.

Reaction both in the street and on social media has been hugely positive, with many asking for more murals to be added into our street scene. 

Publicity on the ITV local news, Facebook, Tik Tok and other social media platforms has been very enthusiastic. Lots of positive discussions about street art and other public art in Chippenham have developed and the members of TASKL have been buzzing at being involved in such an exciting and popular project.  Some have even gone into Chippenham to see it!

Having produced a large, professional piece of work we will now run a competition for anyone in Chippenham to enter, to decorate six of the Openreach roadside cabinets across the town, with further large-scale work planned after that.

As a charity we need to fundraise to pay for materials, access equipment, planning applications and artist fees; our next fundraising venture is an art auction later on in the year.

PAC would like to thank the Grant Committee for funding our first project in what we hope will be a long-term project to turn Chippenham into a thriving and vibrant ’Arts Town’

Below are links to media coverage of the project.

https://www.itv.com/watch/news/chippenham-could-become-the-street-art-capital-of-wiltshire/9srg7vq

https://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/24910193.chippenham-murals-spread-colour-across-town-centre/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/chippenhamnoticeboard/posts/1141452560912312/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/chippenhamnoticeboard/posts/1136650108059224/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yv5nwxj5jo

https://www.threads.net/@philcchamberlain/post/DFkJcL5MoeC

https://streetartcities.com/cities/chippenham/markers/da1e7bc6-3b2f-42b9-93d8-06d3cd33a9bb

https://www.tiktok.com/@paul.treacy.autho/video/7460898769744186656

Heather Leach   Charlie Graham-May