Graffiti News

Six new graffiti panels have been unveiled on the hoarding around the Ann Street Youth Centre construction site in Jersey. According to BBC News, reporting on 2 August 2026, the Government of Jersey said the panels celebrate the creativity and experiences of young people on the island.

Who made the panels

According to the BBC, pupils and young people from across the island took part, including from Grainville School, d'Auvergne Primary School, Mont à l'Abbé School and Springfield Primary School, along with several youth projects. The island's Children, Young People, Education and Skills Department said children had also contributed ideas for the new centre through the Ann Street Youth ambassador programme.

The surface the work sits on is not the finished building. It is the hoarding that surrounds the site while construction goes on.

Construction hoardings are the most common legal wall a city has

Hoardings are among the most painted surfaces in any town. They are flat, at eye level, on busy pedestrian routes, and above all temporary — there is little to lose if they get marked. Left alone, they usually end up covered in tags.

What Jersey did was reverse the order. Instead of responding once there is something to remove, the island decided who would paint the surface at the point the surface went up. This is not only about the finished look. Surfaces that already carry work tend to attract fewer new tags, which is a pattern councils see repeatedly.

The part that matters more comes afterwards. Children who took part through their school or youth project now know where their work hangs and who walks past it. Starting out with a spray can as something that carries your name, rather than something done out of sight, changes the years that follow.

The island asked young people what they wanted before building it

According to the BBC, 64 young people and 39 parents and interested adults gathered on Jersey Children's Day to discuss what they would like to see in the new facility. Suggestions included gaming facilities and places where young people could access support.

The centre is due to open in 2028. The Government of Jersey said it would provide modern, inclusive spaces where young people can meet friends, try new activities, develop skills and get support when they need it.

That leaves close to two years before the building itself exists. In the meantime, the only part of the project visible on the street is the six panels on the hoarding — which means what the town looks at during construction is work by local children rather than grey plywood.

Knowing where the legal walls are

Finding out which surfaces can legally be painted is harder than it sounds in most cities. Walls appear and disappear quietly, and temporary surfaces like hoardings more so than any other.

The Wallscape map keeps work that was uploaded with its location. A painting on a hoarding due to be dismantled still becomes a record once the photograph and the coordinates exist. The feed shows what is going up in cities right now.

Source: BBC News, 2 August 2026.