New Dotmaster street artwork in Carlisle as Bigger Picture launched

The team behind the ‘Bigger Picture’ project – kicked off this week with a new work by street artist Dotmaster – believe that Carlisle is punching below its weight and that with the right initiatives and positive approaches, it could become a greater cultural and social economic centre.

“We are looking at the city and dreaming of what it could be – a place where people want to come and live, a place that is famous for its culture”, says one of the organisers, Adrian Lochhead, director of Eden Arts.

“That’s not to say it is a bad place. I am a resident and proud to be one. I think Carlisle is great, I just feel that it could be greater with more activity, more going on in the centre, a more joined-up approach… I think everyone does if we are honest.”

The building on Clifford Street will be visible to people using Castle Way (Image: Stuart Walker)

Adrian and his team have joined forces with Ben Heslop of Blank Walls Assassins (BWA) to kick start the new initiative.  

The Bigger Picture will invite experts from other cities to come and look and review and to suggest new approaches and ideas.

The idea is that these will help to ‘envisage a new and positive vision’ for Carlisle.

“We are interested in culture as it plays such a big role in shaping and promoting the city’s identity”, continued Adrian, “be that through street art, festivals, events, galleries, in bars, in restaurants, on the street, wherever.

Blank Wall Assassins and Eden Arts have teamed up with wall artist Dotmasters to transform another wall space into art in Carlisle. (Image: Stuart Walker)

“You can see that just simple things like adding lamp-post signs and hosting outdoor events changes the look of Warwick Road outside the football club; we want to think even bigger than that – for example what could the old Hoopers building be, what changes could be made to the public realm, how could the image of the city be changed through hosting truly international cultural events.

“These things have both huge economic impact and on local business but also big impact on people and social cohesion”.

The new project will see two new street art commissions, including Dotmaster’s work.

Blank Wall Assassins and Eden Arts have teamed up with wall artist Dotmaster to transform another wall space into art in Carlisle. (Image: Stuart Walker)

The BWA journey started in 2018, and has since taken many twists and turns. Now, the free QR coded street art tour takes in over 20 pieces all over the cityscape.

Ben Heslop, creative director behind Blank Wall Assassins, said: “When I look at how many powerful interactions have been noted in response to our curation of the city’s streets it reminds me of just how important creating a rich tapestry of cultural experiences has been for the city and its people.”

The new artwork in Carlisle (Image: Stuart Walker)

BWA’s vision is to bring a ‘living gallery to the streets that is free to access, on view to all, and able to cross cultural and social boundaries and reach out and grab those not knowing they were looking for a cultural experience’.

Ben added: “We wanted to challenge, agitate, educate and excite people in equal measures as we feel that is what great art should do.

“So much ‘culture’ happens behind closed doors and is accessed by the same cohorts.

The artist Dotmaster outside his new work in Carlisle (Image: Stuart Walker)

“If BWA stick a 130 square metre painting on the side of a building, all people within the city know, they can engage, discuss, pass judgement, be inspired or simply pass by, but they have seen, they have experienced something they otherwise would not and were not expecting, and there is a real power in that.”

Eden Arts have created the Winter Droving in Penrith among many other artistic projects.