Graffiti News

Teenagers will paint a shop shutter at Westway

A graffiti workshop will give teenagers a place to make a mural during Frome Carnival on September 26, 2026. According to Somerset Live, Somerset Council has approved the temporary event notice submitted by Frome businessman Matthew Steadman for a street party within Westway shopping centre. The workshop is the opening part of a programme that combines street art with music alongside the town’s carnival celebrations.

School of Graff will run the session for young people aged 13 to 18, with local artist Tommy Vandalist helping participants paint the roller shutter of Ellenbray Toy Shop. The scheduled workshop runs from 11am to 3pm. Anyone wishing to take part should email theschoolofgraff@outlook.com in advance. The report does not specify a fee, equipment requirements or a walk-in option.

For people following street art, the immediate interest is the chance to watch a shared work take shape on a working shopfront. The account identifies the surface and the artist supporting the session, but gives no finished design or commitment about how long the mural will remain. A visit during the making session therefore has a firmer basis than planning around a permanent artwork.

The art session comes before the evening procession

The street party will be outside Ellenbray Toy Shop in The Old Library on Westway, with its art programme taking place before the carnival procession starts. Westway connects Market Place to the Cheese & Grain by a footbridge over the River Frome. These landmarks locate the workshop within the pedestrian route through the town centre.

After the painting session, young people will take over a DJ slot from 3pm to 5pm. A dance gathering with local DJs is scheduled from 5pm to 10pm. Frome Carnival’s procession is due to begin at 7pm on September 26. Visitors mainly interested in the painting should distinguish the 11am–3pm workshop from the later music and procession times.

The sequence puts making and performing into the same programme: teenagers first work on a visible surface, then young DJs have time on the decks. That provides a practical way to encounter street art as an activity as well as an image. The source does not name the DJs or describe any additional mural sites, so the shop shutter is the specific art location reported.

Councillors approved the event after safety objections

The licence was granted after councillors considered police objections about crowd movement and the interaction between the party, carnival and fair. Somerset Live reports that Somerset Council’s licensing sub-committee east discussed the application at a virtual hearing on September 17. Councillor Simon Carswell, who chaired the hearing, questioned how organisers would respond if listeners gathered in the narrow space.

Steadman said four stewards would manage the area. Two would keep a 2.2-metre pedestrian passage clear, while two would count people entering and leaving and report the numbers to him. He also described barriers and a one-in, one-out system as measures available if the space became too busy. These were the organiser’s stated management arrangements.

Sergeant Adrian Kettle of Avon and Somerset Constabulary maintained concerns about public safety and said consultation with police had been insufficient. He warned that people leaving an incident could emerge into areas already occupied by carnival spectators or the procession. Councillors ultimately approved the notice as requested after about 90 minutes of debate and a further discussion in private. The decision allowed the event to proceed while the reported objections explain why the location received scrutiny.

Visitors can plan around the workshop and carnival routes

A visit to see the mural being made should centre on the daytime workshop and take account of the carnival’s wider movement through Frome. The source directs readers to the Frome Carnival website for the procession route and associated road closures. Steadman said the Cheese & Grain car park could not serve as an alternative venue because the annual funfair would be using the space.

An information tent staffed by stewards is planned throughout the day, alongside a welfare point, opportunities to donate to the Frome Carnival Charities Association and a box for suggestions about future events. Those facilities are part of the reported event arrangements, rather than details about the mural’s future display.

The workshop offers a defined setting for young people to contribute to a shopfront with an artist’s help. For visitors, the useful distinction is between seeing that process on September 26 and assuming the finished shutter will always be visible afterwards. No long-term viewing arrangements are stated in the report. Explore other street-art locations on the Wallscape map.

Source: Somerset Live