Stories Behind The Art: Football Birds

The Brandon Estate in Kennington Park was in desperate need of some care and attention after it had spent years at the mercy of spray paint and graffiti. Local residents felt that the 60m stretch of wall surrounding Kennington Park represented the bygone days of gang culture and violence, a time the community were keen to leave behind. 

Brewers Decorator Centres in association with local group Bee Urban undertook an ambitious community scheme alongside the Brandon Tenants Residents Association to restore the community’s spirit and unity by painting a massive mural along a 60m wall, making it one of London’s longest murals.

Brewers Peckham store manager Jimmy Thomson was delighted to help by donating over 150 litres of Albany Paint to the community project. The Peckham store were blown away by the enthusiasm of Bee Urban’s Barnaby Shaw as his team strove to overcome the negative image created about the estate, seeking instead to highlight a very different message.

The thirteenth half hexagon on the wall is the first contribution from the local primary school, St John the Divine. St John the Divine is a Church of England primary school with links to the surrounding communities in both Lambeth and Southwark. They are a Christian learning community dedicated to providing the best educational experiences for their pupils.

This distinct depiction was designed by Year 4 and 5 students who came up with their own unique concept for the wall. The kids wanted to combine their love of two things in particular; the wildlife of Kennington Park and football. 

It is from these passions that they came up with the design, three birds joyfully kicking a football around in front of a packed stadium!