Mall art
Art on Wood Green Mall
The Mayor of London awarded Haringey Council funding for an artwork on the facade of the Mall’s car park as part of the Good Growth Fund 3 Accelerator programme.
Project background
Between September and early October 2021, we held an open call for emerging and established artists with interest or experience in creating public artworks to submit an application.
This opportunity was open to both emerging artists who are looking to develop their practice and established artists with relevant experience.
Applicants had to be:
- a visual artist, team or collective over 18 years old with an interest or experience in creating public artworks
- willing to engage with local groups and young people as part of research and development for the commission
The selection panel was made up of Haringey Council, the Mayor of London’s office and the Mall.
There was also a Community Advisory Panel contributing to the commissioning process made up of representatives from Sky City, the Youth Advisory Board, Noel Park Big Local, Wise Thoughts and Community Hub.
Local artist appointed
The Community Panel chose Matt Dosa to create the artwork for the Mall’s spiral car park ramp.
Matt Dosa is a full-time artist and muralist born and bred in Wood Green. He is self-taught with a graffiti and street art background, which he uses as inspiration for his paintings on canvas and design of large-scale murals.
Matt’s concept was called ‘Under many Flags’. Matt said:
Flags are a symbol of identity, and when different flags are hung together, they represent unity and mutual recognition. It’s a strong concept that local people can engage with and be proud of participating in.”
Art in partnership
Matt collaborated with the Youth Advisory Board, a Youth-Led organisation created to support 13 to 25 years olds from Haringey to influence decisions in the local area on the project. Together they delivered 7 co-design workshops with local schools and community groups. Local participants produced over 120 flags, drawing on their personal and cultural identities.
A big thank you to all those who took part from Heartlands School, St Paul's Primary School, Footsteps Academy and Wise Thoughts. The Record Shop at the Mall also hosted two workshops, one as part of their regular open mic night, bringing together the themes of music and art in Wood Green.
The final piece incorporates many of the designs and ideas created in those sessions.
Mural complete
Under Many Flags is now complete and has made a car park into a destination.
The artwork covers an area of over 200 square metres and members of the Youth Advisory Board were trained to help Matt with the painting.
The mural looks amazing - we hope you agree!