Huddersfield’s Streets of Colour project illuminates the canal

Winning student design idea for a colourful art installation is commissioned by Kirklees Council to brighten canal bridge on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal adjacent to the campus.  The artwork depicting a montage of the town’s landmarks was designed and painted by professional street artist Jo Peel.

STUDENTS from the University of Huddersfield saw their winning ideas, to make Huddersfield town centre more vibrant, become a reality with the creation of a colourful art installation on campus adjacent to the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.

Situated on the Wakefield Road underpass which connects the University campus to Aspley Marina, the design is the culmination of last year’s 24-hour design challenge, held in conjunction with Kirklees Council.

Entitled Streets of Colour, the competition is a part of the University’s Innovation and Creative Exchange programme.

The artwork designed and painted by the award-winning street artist Jo Peel, with help from the students, covers the entire 33 metres of the underpass connecting the University campus to the Aspley Marina.

The mural celebrates key features of Huddersfield’s history acknowledging the town’s textile heritage, the Georgian and Victorian architecture, all the way through to modern day Huddersfield with the University’s Oastler Building and the steel structure of the new Barbara Hepworth Building, currently under construction, finishing the piece.

Jo, who is originally from Sheffield, had to undertake a mass of research about the town when designing the piece and has now covered the mural with a special anti-graffiti coating to ensure the artwork is there for years to come.

“The students have been great,” said Jo.  “They have had an input into the design, which begins with the first cloth hall and takes you through some of the town’s most important landmarks.”

The Design Challenge

The original 24-hour design challenge involved teams of undergraduates, from a multitude of disciplines.

Their task was to create self-sustainable activities and schemes that would attract community involvement and result in increased footfall and dwell-time in the town and also to leave a sense of identity and pride within the community.

Kirklees Council representatives were so impressed by the ideas that it was agreed that it would be brought to fruition.

The underpass was decided to be the location for the art after the Council spoke with students and the Huddersfield Civic Society.  Both identified the path as being uninviting and looking very lonely to walk through at night. 

The winning students were Rosalee Brown from Accounting, Dominika Stefanska from Architecture and Jousef Albazi from Mechanical Engineering.

Kath Davies, Creative Economy Manager (Economic Resilience), who supported the new approach and collaboration, says the transformation is quite astounding.

“What has come out as a consequence of the challenge is phenomenal,” said Kath.  “The underpass now looks great and the students have learnt new skills such as project management and how to approach working with lots of different people which will be invaluable for them in the future. 

“We hope the public enjoy the painting as much as we have all enjoyed working on the project,” she added.

Rosalee Brown, one of the winning students said taking part in the 24-hour challenge and seeing their ideas become a reality was a wonderful experience.  “I’ve never done anything like this before and I’m proud to have made a valuable contribution to the community of which I am now residing,” she said.