Testimonials
The Albany
“Eloisa’s work is high quality as is her artistic ability to develop a design to enhance a specific environment. Her paintwork and its effect on the space and the people who use it has exceeded our expectations. Eloisa has not only been an absolute joy to work with but also has delivered the whole job from start to finish with great energy, on time and within budget. We definitely would hire her again!” Shenay Gaul
Kents Hill Park School
“Absolutely amazing! The parents, pupils and staff all love our mural. We’re now the school with all the colour!” Erin Morley-Smith
Better Space
“Eloisa's mural has brought our coworking space to life! The colours and designs bring energy and magic to our walls and are enjoyed by everyone that sees it!” Simon Magnus
LEWISHAM MUSIC
Recently, Lewisham Music moved into The Fellowship and Star community centre, in Bellingham, south Lewisham, London.
Built during the 1920s, the Grade II listed building is steeped in real history.
It was the first interwar pub that was part of a post-WW1 ‘Homes for Heroes’ development. It offered space to war veterans and their families.
It is also where boxer Henry Cooper trained for his 1963 fight against Muhammad Ali. And during the late 1960s and 1970s, it hosted musicians like Eric Clapton and Fleetwood Mac.
But the 1980s saw it fall into disrepair, much like the Billingham area.
It wasn’t until 2016, that a housing association restored the pub to its former glory. Now, the building includes a cinema, live music venue, café, bar, music hub and studios. The second floor is home to Lewisham Music.
CHALLENGE
TO ADD A WELCOME VIBRANCY TO LACKLUSTRE DECOR
Despite having been newly decorated, Keith Sykes realised there was still something missing from the space ... it needed to be fun and welcoming to draw people in.
“It was all grey carpet and white walls, so the building resembled corporate offices. And yet we're trying to run a creative art space for young people and families in the community. We wanted the place to feel like, ‘OK, well, we’ve arrived’.”
Keith knew he wanted to commission an artist to renovate the main entrance corridor. So he set about putting out a public commission.
Applications from artists flooded in. And all with different interpretations of what they would do with the space.
Besides the design needing to be fun, bright and vibrant, one of Keith's main wishes was for it to be universal. It had to appeal to different types of people that use the space. But most of the submitted designs concentrated on singular audiences.
And so Keith and his team struggled to pick a design ... that was until they came across the mural artist Eloisa Henderson-Figueroa.
SOLUTION
A MURAL ARTIST WHO INJECTS LIFE WITH A PAINTBRUSH
“We just fell in love with Eloisa’s design. She'd ticked all our wishes. And expertly, the design used subtle musical references. It felt like a visual score but represented through shapes and colours. And we adored that.”
With the commission won, Eloisa listened to the team’s ideas. And included everything they asked for. Because the aim was to give them a workspace that they would love.
"With her style of working, Eloisa showed she’s a great collaborator. She wasn’t at all precious about her work – a good skill to have as an artist.”
Getting down to work, Eloisa leaned on her signature style and picked joyful pops of colour (including the charity’s own) and mixed them with geometric shapes to spruce up the main entrance. After three days, she finished. And the goal? Achieved.
“Everyone is so proud of the design. Even visitors who are professional creatives have commented on how perfect it is.”
But there was still the challenge of the emotionless, dreary office look to the rest of the building.
“My favourite part about working with Eloisa was that she got to the end of the main project but was sad it had to stop there. She was so passionate about it that she devised a plan to enrich the rest of the space."
Her idea was to continue the design along all the corridors, around corners and in rooms. This way it would feel as if the mural was following people as they walked around, and the spaces would also connect.
Keith felt it was such a clever play on the original design, he found the extra funds to extend the project, thereby solving this second obstacle.
RESULT
A MUCH-LOVED SPACE FOR MUSIC
The new design proved so successful that:
The space is now encouraging to young artists and creatives
The mood of the building has changed to lively, fun, and welcoming
There’s more interaction with people from all backgrounds and abilities
“I have to say, there wasn’t a dull moment when Eloisa was around. She’s so much fun. We all enjoyed working with her and seeing her wonderful suggestions come to life.”