I feel like I might have wandered into a caption competition here…
…but I wanted to share this, and ask with it, how can wall art and installations contribute to our tackling #highstreet vacancy work…?
I’m on record as saying how much I love to see #streetart in places I visit and in locations we’re working, and that’s partly just for enjoying it.
But I argue too that it helps, the history or heritage-reflecting kind I found on the same day as this on a visit to Ebbw Vale town centre or the rainbow, umbrella, butterfly, balloons one that’s brightening up a corner of Tredegar’s shopping centre.
At one end of the scale they can bring people into your town who might not have visited, especially if there’s a trail to follow. That has the added advantage of helping draw people from one to the next and around the town centre, maybe including parts they wouldn’t otherwise have found. They’re a talking point, and when they’re clever like this can encourage people and especially young people to be a part of the art, and hopefully then share on social media and so act as an ambassador in a way that might persuade others to visit too.
And that’s how it fits our tackling vacancy story. Bringing people in, tempting them to stay longer, helping make their visit memorable, encouraging them to spread the word. All things that are important to ‘promote’ – the fourth element of our approach that starts with ‘audit, engage, encourage.’
And if all that’s a bit in the weeds, you can of course just like seeing them…
