Kirkham Close Community Centre TileD Artwork Project, Whitby, North Yorkshire, 2025

A new community artwork was installed at Kirkham Close Community Centre in Whitby, North Yorkshire in summer 2025. Commissioned by Carers Plus Yorkshire, Beyond Housing, and supported by Rural Arts, the artwork was created by users of the centre and local residents. With a brief to brighten up the building and make it more identifiable as a community space, I led a consultation session with the local residents, followed by a series of workshops in which participants created brightly coloured designs using a mix of collage techniques. These designs were then made into durable ceramic tiles and installed on the walls to form a patchwork of shapes and colours. Taking inspiration for the project from Barcelona, where I used to live, as well as Victorian tile design, I also introduced the participants to a range of artists for inspiration, from the cut outs of Matisse, to the colourful geometric designs of Sonia Delaunay, as well as contemporary artists working with colour patterns. There is of course some local inspiration too, if you look carefully you might find echoes of Whitby Abbey, and several sea and nature themed designs. The idea of the project was for each participant to express their individuality through their design, and for the finished artwork to bring all these individual designs together in a piece that reflects a sense of community. The bright and colourful designs of the tiles have already helped draw more people to the building and the community events that take place there.