“Our first time in Kirkcaldy yesterday and your mural was the first thing we saw as we drove in – it looked amazing!”
I’m really looking forward to seeing this IRL on our next visit later this month, but it’s already a talking point, not just for the town there but also the wider community of place leaders and managers…
…for two reasons.
First it picks out what I think is an important point we often make to local tackling highstreet vacancy teams we’re working with about arrival points and first impressions. As the quote says, this will be the first you see if you approach the High Street here from that direction and these – like the welcome at car parks, rail stations or bus depot – can be crucial in getting a visit off to a positive start.
Second it’s another valuable add to the conversation about the impact wall art can have on a place’s social media. Very often placemaking colleagues struggle with these platforms which can be dominated by negative comments about our town or city centres.
This for us – and we’ve seen it in other places – is the latest example of (a) the huge response this kind of work gets (1.6k likes last I looked) and (b) the big proportion of comments (145 so far) that are in the “brilliant, fantastic, amazing” set.
So here’s to Lisa, Scottish mural artist and sign writer at Graef Sign Co., whose work it is, with thanks to Jos Rodriguez for the image.
As ever, we’re keen to hear your new wall art, street art installations or shutterart examples plus other placemaking positives that you’ve found can turn those social media channels.
