Artists join bid to save city murals

Our campaign to save the city’s murals is gathering pace.

Galway’s vibrant arts community has come out strongly in favour of retaining murals on facades of businesses in the city centre, including the beanstalks mural at a well-known jewellers shop.

Galway City Council planners and the planning appeals board, An Bórd Pleanála, want the colourful murals removed from Claddagh Jewellers on Mainguard Street despite it being highly praised by Tidy Towns’ judges. And the killjoy planners have turned their attentions to other murals such as the popular ‘two legs’ mural at Premoli shoe shop at William Street.

Last week the Galway City Tribune launched a campaign to save the beanstalk mural after a survey found the public is outraged at the spoilsport planners.

A whopping 87% of respondents said the mural should be kept because is adds to the area. Just 13% agreed with planners and want it removed, proving the public wants planners to climb-down on their stance on the beanstalks. The business community, including the Latin Quarter and West End Traders, backed the campaign.

And this week prominent members of Galway’s arts community have voiced their support for murals in the city.

Margaret Nolan, artist in residence at the Housing Department of Galway City Council, has backed the campaign to save the murals.

Ms Nolan, best known for her street art, was employed to paint the popular murals on hoardings during the two Galway Volvo Ocean Race stopovers.

She said she likes some of the beanstalks mural, called ‘Grown in Galway’, although some of it is “over the top”.

But she is dead against the principle of removing the murals. “I think some of the beanstalk mural is nice, parts of it are over the top but I don’t want to see it taken down,” she said.

Galway would be “ugly and boring” without street art and murals, she said. Ms Nolan said that the city was renowned for its “vibrancy and colour”, which is added to by murals.

Artist Brendan Savage said it was “preposterous” that the Council would attempt to impose restrictive codes that “limit freedom of speech and freedom of expression” in a city like Galway famous for its colour and vibrancy.

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.