Revealing Southbury is a Place Shaping project by Enfield Council, delivered in collaboration with Fisher Cheng Architects. Alongside working with the lead artists Qwynto and Andrew Werdna from mural collective Blank Walls. I was honoured to be selected as one of the project’s Place Champions, contributing to a series of public artworks that celebrate the identity, heritage, and narrative of Southbury Road, Enfield.

My Role as Place Champion:

As a Place Champion, I supported the development and delivery of murals and shopfront shutter designs alongside lead artists Qwynto and Andrew Werdna. My role included creative research, workshop facilitation, and hands-on mural execution. This experience expanded my design practice and deepened my understanding of community-led placemaking and public art.

Community Engagement Workshops:

Community involvement was a cornerstone of the project:
At Southbury Primary School, Year 6 pupils participated in a storytelling and collage workshop, sharing their personal connections to the area. Their ideas later informed the final mural design.

At Southbury Launderette, I co-facilitated a workshop led by Andrew Werdna where local residents used collage to create concepts for storefront shutter artwork. These designs reflected local pride and opened up conversation around community identity.

The Creative Process:

Qwynto developed a large-scale mural for Southbury Bridge, incorporating themes from the school workshop. I learned how to scale digital artwork using a ‘doodle grid’ and applied emulsion techniques to build colour, depth, and form on-site.
Working with Andrew Werdna, I helped define the individual visual identities of several shopfront shutters and gained hands-on experience using spray paint for both broad fills and detailed applications. Each design reflected themes gathered from local stories, shaped collaboratively with the community.

Project Showcase & Launch Event:

We celebrated the launch of Revealing Southbury at Southbury Launderette, transformed into an interactive installation space. The event was a joyful celebration of creative collaboration and local legacy.

Visitors engaged with:

- An urban research zine created by fellow Place Champion Safia Banharally

- A behind-the-scenes short film documenting the creative process

- A guided walking tour of the finished artworks led by the mural artists

- A participatory sketch-template activity I designed, inviting visitors to imagine their own mural concepts

Reflections:

This project was especially meaningful as it took place in my home neighbourhood. It offered me the chance to give back through art and collaboration, while gaining hands-on experience in public engagement, storytelling, and spatial transformation. It’s a project that will always hold a special place for me. Both personally and professionally.