Art UK's murals digitisation and engagement programme is a three-year initiative using digital and physical engagement to raise awareness of murals and street art, and their place in our communities, and highlight the diverse artists involved in creating this art form.
We are recording and photographing c.5,000 murals across the UK. Painted murals constitute a large part of this project, alongside sculptural murals in concrete, brick, wood, stone, tile, and other materials.
Community Mural in Basildon, Essex
2021, paint by Marina Capdevila 
Murals are located on the outside and inside of buildings and in public spaces, such as shopping centres, railway stations, churches and museums. The location of murals, the circumstances behind their creation, and the materials used to create them can result in this type of artwork being ephemeral in nature. Buildings and housing estates are demolished to make way for new developments meaning that many murals have been lost. We are recording the murals as they look now, to provide a record if they are removed, defaced, or suffer environmental damage.
Public murals are being recorded by our dedicated network of Volunteer Researchers and Photographers.
We are delivering a series of community and school activities, including workshops and films with artists, audio descriptions for blind and partially sighted people, and learning resources for teachers. We are writing stories about the artworks, artists, artistic practice, and their locations, our digitisation and learning methodologies, and the contribution of our volunteers. We are creating mural trails and Curations on the Art UK website.
Art UK is very grateful to the project funders for their generous support for this programme: The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The Pilgrim Trust, Historic England, Colwinston Charitable Trust, The Walker Trust, The Golsoncott Foundation and Honeymead Arts Trust.