Graffiti News

Campaigners are trying to save the mural before demolition

Professor Bennett Zon is leading a campaign to remove, restore and relocate the mural on Durham County Hall at Aykley Heads in Durham, England. According to The Northern Echo, he has told supporters that the rescue has reached a crucial stage, with the building and its mural facing demolition.

Demolition is expected to begin next year, relative to the source report, although no demolition contractor has been appointed. That leaves the campaign working towards an approaching deadline while important arrangements remain unresolved. The reported ambition is to preserve the artwork beyond the life of the building by moving it elsewhere.

For people who follow murals and public art, the distinction matters: the campaign concerns both the survival of an artwork and where people might encounter it in future. The update describes work towards a rescue, rather than a completed agreement to move the mural.

Three possible destinations are under discussion

Campaigners are discussing relocation to Beamish Museum, The Light in Durham, or a future redevelopment at Prince Bishops Shopping Centre, The Northern Echo reports. None is presented in the report as the confirmed destination. The list describes the options being considered as the campaign develops its plans.

Professor Zon said discussions were continuing with those behind the Prince Bishops plans. A new operator is due to take over the shopping centre next year, according to the report. That prospective change forms part of the setting for the talks; it does not establish an agreed home for the artwork.

Anyone following the mural's future should therefore distinguish its existing County Hall location from the places being discussed for relocation. The update offers possible destinations, but no confirmed future viewing location. The next home remains one of the central questions in the rescue effort.

Funding depends on more than a grant proposal

The campaign needs a charity to sponsor the project and eventually own the mural, together with a committee experienced in major heritage projects, before applying for a grant. Those organisational requirements sit alongside the search for money and a suitable destination, according to The Northern Echo's account.

Campaigners initially hoped that a £250,000 National Lottery Heritage Fund grant would pay for removal, storage, restoration and relocation. The sum is a funding ambition described in the report, not an announced award. The proposed budget covers a sequence of tasks extending beyond separating the mural from its current building.

The group is also asking whether demolition contractors could contribute through charitable support and is exploring matched funding. These are additional avenues under consideration. The source does not report that either has secured the money required, so the financial position remains part of the work ahead.

Conservation advice will inform the rescue effort

Ceramic conservation expert Mike Rieveley has backed the campaign and agreed to prepare a new report on the mural's condition and future conservation. The Northern Echo reports that commitment, but gives no findings from the new assessment or settled programme of restoration work.

Professor Zon said support had also come from Beamish Museum, Durham University, the Twentieth Century Society, City of Durham Parish Council, conservation specialists and local residents. That backing indicates the range of people and organisations interested in the rescue. It should be read separately from confirmation of funding or a relocation agreement.

Writing in Glazed Expressions, the journal of the Tiles and Architectural Ceramics Society, Professor Zon described the mural as a distinctive account of Durham's history, encompassing Lindisfarne, St Cuthbert and mining heritage. Campaigners argue that saving and relocating the work could contribute to Durham's cultural regeneration. For mural followers, that makes its future a question of public art, local history and a new setting.

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Source: The Northern Echo