art in the public realm
Mural artist names: Gulsun Erbil (Equality-Harmony mural), Anthony Steele (Peace mural), Bernette Hall (Waterfall mural), 1986
Broadwater Farm Community Centre, Adams Rd, N17 6HG
Join us for a walking tour of the large-scale murals and Grade II listed mosaic mural on Broadwater Farm Estate, commissioned in the 1980s in the wake of riots on the estate. Visit the mosaic restoration facility on the estate to hear from conservation professionals, get up close to local community art, see restoration techniques and learn about the history and future of the mosaic mural.
Seven Sisters, Turnpike Lane
Bruce Grove
123, 243, W4
The walking tour includes access to the Mosaic Restoration Facility, which is a working site with uneven gravel floor surface.
There will be seating available at points during the walking tours. There are elements of the tour on which have uneven gravel flooring.
Join us for a walking tour led by local community members, of the large-scale murals and Grade-II listed mosaic mural on Broadwater Farm Estate, commissioned in the 1980s in the wake of riots on the estate. As part of the demolition of Tangmere block, the 100sqm, 7-storey Equality-Harmony Mosaic Mural was carefully removed and is now being restored onsite for future relocation on the estate. Visit the mosaic restoration facility on the estate to hear from conservation professionals, DBR, get up close to local community art, see mosaic restoration techniques and learn about the history and future of London's largest external mosaic mural.
Broadwater Farm is a council-owned housing estate, built in 1967-73. Inspired by Le Corbusier, the estate was the flagship housing project of the new London Borough of Haringey. It contained more than 1,000 flats and housed more than 3,000 people. By the mid-1970s, design faults and a lack of amenities were becoming apparent. However, by mid-1980s, a series of initiatives had started to improve the estate's reputation. Much of this was thanks to the Broadwater Farm Youth Association (BFYA) who campaigned for and successfully commissioned a community centre, a day nursery, a women's centre and a children's play centre on the estate, as well as artworks across the estate. On 6 October 1985 Broadwater Farm made national headlines as the scene of a riot. The riot was one of several episodes of civil unrest occurring in the early 1980s against the background of economic inequality and institutional racism faced disproportionately by black and multi-ethnic communities. In response to the events of October 1985, the Youth Association and Haringey Council coordinated a programme of improvements, which included commissioning external community murals and two landscaped gardens. The estate is now undergoing a period of transformational investment and regeneration, with the demolition and replacing of two blocks, 300 new homes to be built, two pilot block refurbishments, and public realm and landscape proposals.
The meeting point for the walking tour will be the Broadwater Farm Community Centre, Adams Road, N17 6HG.
