Now into their second year, Victoriart Road are doing wonderous things to brighten up their community over in Torry so here's a look at what they've been up to!
Located next to the harbour mouth, the shores of Torry are lined with industrial units whilst a little further up Victoria Road you'll find amazing examples of the Victorian architecture that lines Union Street just a mile back in the city centre. The area often feels cut off despite its proximity to the city centre, by the roaring dual carriageways and industrial offices which line the other side of the river bank, yet its closer to get to than a lot of places in Aberdeen. A regeneration area, its residents have certainly faced economic hard ships but with affordable property prices and its strong sense of community, its an area that seems to be changing its outlook for the better. And for me, Torry has always been a place to explore and a place full of wonders, with the help of Victoriart Road, even more so!
'Welcome to Torry' decrees the bearded face from across the street, the words being swept along by the ensuing gulf of water. On the other side of the street a happy looking boat with legs give you a cheeky wave as his fishing line hangs off the back. These are the new faces that welcome you to Torry, one of the historic parts of Aberdeen and the home of Aberdeens old fishing community. So these new art works, courtesy of Stuart Allan and Ugly People for the Victoriart Road initiative seem fitting but there's a lot more to Torry and Victoriart Road! Indeed these art works were commissioned during phase 1 of the project which saw local artists given free rein on a number of sites in the area with Honk adding some distinctively Aberdonian characters to a boarded up shop front. However plans for a few bigger walls hit stumbling blocks and the project team took a bit of time to regroup and plan the next phase.
After another successful open call, work began on phase 2 which would look to the theme of mental health and how artists and communities can work together to tackle some of the challenges that we all face. The first of the new murals came from local weaver Frieda Strachan. Working with a brief from Victoria Carpets, she was tasked with creating a piece that could link quite a few abstract strands and came up with a rather beautiful textile piece which saw friends and visitors help create the finished work. By allowing them to engage directly with the work and have a hand in it, she proved the value of a community working together and created a truly unique take on the traditional mural concept. The piece is fittingly located on the Victoria Carpet hoardings.
A little further up the road you'll come to the Marine Biology research centre which has been adorned with a large abstract mural from Dundee artist Isla Valentine Wade. Using her distinctive palette of colours, the piece hopes to bring the viewer away from their problems and allow them to get lost for a few moments in the art work. I realised a few years ago after a stint of depression that exercise can be hugely beneficial in shifting the doom and the short walk from the bottom of Victoria Road to Isla's mural definitely got the blood pumping!
A little further up still and you'll come to a fantastic piece by KMG Yeah on the side of the golf course club house. Inspired by her granny who loved the game, the mural looks to showcase the positive benefits of sport for our mental health whether its a slow walk up Victoria road or playing a few holes at the seaside course. We ended up venturing across the course to see the Greyhope Bay Fun Day event at the old Torry Battery and enjoyed the amazing views of the city from its elevated position. It served as a reminder of the importance to get out and about and to explore our own city with all its weird and wonderful spots.
The final piece of the trail hadn't started production when we visited but the following week saw Fit Like Art take on a giant wall with 340 odd pupils from Tullos Primary School. A school of large stencilled fish can be seen swimming along Girdleness Road, located directly across from the kids school windows, allowing them to see the work every day (check it out here). It's great to see art and street art have a positive impact on a community but its always important that the community has a hand in it all.
It's been quite amazing to see the inspiration of initiatives like Painted Doors & Nuart Aberdeen go a little bit further into local communities like Torry. I have fond memories of Outings Project pasting up his characters from the art gallery on Victoria Road and Hera creating her stunning piece up at Nigg Bay back in 2017 but its amazing to see the locals take things a step further. Along with the artworks the Victoriart Road group have also run a series of workshops, fund raising events and a special Health Walk mural tour that will bring participants face to face withal the artworks. The first health walk was postponed due to the weather and is now taking place this weekend (Saturday 26th October).
You can find more info about this fantastic project on Facebook here and Instagram here. Well done to the team at Victoriart Road!
Located next to the harbour mouth, the shores of Torry are lined with industrial units whilst a little further up Victoria Road you'll find amazing examples of the Victorian architecture that lines Union Street just a mile back in the city centre. The area often feels cut off despite its proximity to the city centre, by the roaring dual carriageways and industrial offices which line the other side of the river bank, yet its closer to get to than a lot of places in Aberdeen. A regeneration area, its residents have certainly faced economic hard ships but with affordable property prices and its strong sense of community, its an area that seems to be changing its outlook for the better. And for me, Torry has always been a place to explore and a place full of wonders, with the help of Victoriart Road, even more so!
'Welcome to Torry' decrees the bearded face from across the street, the words being swept along by the ensuing gulf of water. On the other side of the street a happy looking boat with legs give you a cheeky wave as his fishing line hangs off the back. These are the new faces that welcome you to Torry, one of the historic parts of Aberdeen and the home of Aberdeens old fishing community. So these new art works, courtesy of Stuart Allan and Ugly People for the Victoriart Road initiative seem fitting but there's a lot more to Torry and Victoriart Road! Indeed these art works were commissioned during phase 1 of the project which saw local artists given free rein on a number of sites in the area with Honk adding some distinctively Aberdonian characters to a boarded up shop front. However plans for a few bigger walls hit stumbling blocks and the project team took a bit of time to regroup and plan the next phase.
After another successful open call, work began on phase 2 which would look to the theme of mental health and how artists and communities can work together to tackle some of the challenges that we all face. The first of the new murals came from local weaver Frieda Strachan. Working with a brief from Victoria Carpets, she was tasked with creating a piece that could link quite a few abstract strands and came up with a rather beautiful textile piece which saw friends and visitors help create the finished work. By allowing them to engage directly with the work and have a hand in it, she proved the value of a community working together and created a truly unique take on the traditional mural concept. The piece is fittingly located on the Victoria Carpet hoardings.
A little further up the road you'll come to the Marine Biology research centre which has been adorned with a large abstract mural from Dundee artist Isla Valentine Wade. Using her distinctive palette of colours, the piece hopes to bring the viewer away from their problems and allow them to get lost for a few moments in the art work. I realised a few years ago after a stint of depression that exercise can be hugely beneficial in shifting the doom and the short walk from the bottom of Victoria Road to Isla's mural definitely got the blood pumping!
A little further up still and you'll come to a fantastic piece by KMG Yeah on the side of the golf course club house. Inspired by her granny who loved the game, the mural looks to showcase the positive benefits of sport for our mental health whether its a slow walk up Victoria road or playing a few holes at the seaside course. We ended up venturing across the course to see the Greyhope Bay Fun Day event at the old Torry Battery and enjoyed the amazing views of the city from its elevated position. It served as a reminder of the importance to get out and about and to explore our own city with all its weird and wonderful spots.
The final piece of the trail hadn't started production when we visited but the following week saw Fit Like Art take on a giant wall with 340 odd pupils from Tullos Primary School. A school of large stencilled fish can be seen swimming along Girdleness Road, located directly across from the kids school windows, allowing them to see the work every day (check it out here). It's great to see art and street art have a positive impact on a community but its always important that the community has a hand in it all.
It's been quite amazing to see the inspiration of initiatives like Painted Doors & Nuart Aberdeen go a little bit further into local communities like Torry. I have fond memories of Outings Project pasting up his characters from the art gallery on Victoria Road and Hera creating her stunning piece up at Nigg Bay back in 2017 but its amazing to see the locals take things a step further. Along with the artworks the Victoriart Road group have also run a series of workshops, fund raising events and a special Health Walk mural tour that will bring participants face to face withal the artworks. The first health walk was postponed due to the weather and is now taking place this weekend (Saturday 26th October).
You can find more info about this fantastic project on Facebook here and Instagram here. Well done to the team at Victoriart Road!
