Graffiti News

Chapel Ash has artwork on walls and a building side

Paul Pilgrim and artists based in Birmingham have added graffiti artwork to Chapel Ash in Wolverhampton, creating what Birmingham Live describes as an open-air gallery. The paintings occupy a wall and the side of a building opposite The Claredon Hotel. The report available on 11 June 2026 does not specify when the painting took place, so the date should not be read as an opening or completion date.

Two subjects help identify the work. One image depicts Wolverhampton’s skyline; another presents a dog apparently emerging through paint. These offer different ways of looking at the same street: one refers to the surrounding city, while the other centres on an animal portrait. The report identifies these images without giving a complete catalogue of the painted surfaces.

For someone following street art, the setting is part of the encounter. A skyline painted on an urban wall can be considered alongside the actual buildings around it. A portrait on a building side also shares its visual space with the street. Looking at both the image and its position helps explain how a group of painted surfaces can become a place to pause.

The project uses walls with landowners’ permission

The Chapel Ash work was carried out with permission from the landowners, according to Pilgrim’s account to Birmingham Live. Pilgrim, a Wolverhampton resident aged 56 at the time of the report, said the other participating artists also had permission. That detail establishes the basis for this particular intervention in the street.

Pilgrim described Pilgrimz Projectz as an effort to use run-down spaces and make them more visually pleasing by adding colour. He said the site had been neglected for several years. His explanation places the condition of the space alongside the artwork itself: the aim concerns how a location looks to people passing through it, as well as what is painted on a wall.

He also referred to comments from passers-by about the change. Those remarks are part of his account, rather than a measured statement of public opinion. Birmingham Live does not present a resident survey or evidence that everyone shares the same response. The work can therefore be reported as a permitted artistic intervention without assigning it a broader public verdict.

More artwork was planned for the site, Pilgrim said. No completion date, number of additional pieces or further artist list is supplied. For visitors, the distinction matters: the skyline and dog portrait are described in the report, while expansion remains a stated intention.

Heath Town provides a separate historical connection

Wolverhampton’s graffiti history also extends to Heath Town, about two miles east of Chapel Ash, according to Birmingham Live. The report connects that area with DJ and actor Goldie, whose paintings survive in a residential building’s basement. This gives the Chapel Ash story a wider city context without establishing a direct link between Goldie and the new project.

The surviving work is described as being in the service basement of Hawthorn House, a ten-storey block where Goldie is believed to have lived. Some paintings date to 1986. The wording about his residence remains qualified; it should not be treated as a confirmed biographical detail.

Some of Goldie’s original artwork has been painted over. The combination of surviving and covered work offers a useful perspective on following graffiti across time: the record of a place can include both visible paintings and images that no longer remain exposed. Chapel Ash and Heath Town belong in the same discussion of Wolverhampton’s graffiti culture, but they are distinct sites with different physical settings.

The hotel is a location marker, not an access guarantee

The practical location supplied for the Chapel Ash paintings is opposite The Claredon Hotel. That is the reference point for finding the reported work; Birmingham Live does not provide a detailed viewing route or access arrangements. Keep ordinary street movement and property boundaries in mind when looking at the walls.

The Heath Town reference requires particular care when planning a visit. A service basement in a residential block is not described as a public exhibition space, and the report gives no permission or arrangements for visitors to enter. The presence of surviving artwork does not establish public access.

Use Wallscape’s map to explore street art nearby.

Source: Birmingham Live