New murals unveiled as part of S&DR200 celebrations
The S&DR200 festival has launched a series of murals by six artists to mark the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
The project is supported by funding from Historic England and the Railway Heritage Trust, marking 200 years of the passenger railway with new artworks at key historic locations.
The first of the new murals along the S&DR Trail of Discovery were unveiled on Tuesday 10 June - Kate Jackson’s Motion 200 at Heighington train station and Adébayo Bolaji’s Time and Place at Darlington train station. Together they form a lasting legacy that enables future generations to discover the importance of the railway’s past and present and serve as points of connection for local communities and visitors to the region.
The other murals will be located at iconic historic sites along the S&DR Trail of Discovery, a new trail between Witton Park and Stockton, that closely follows the original 26-mile-route of the world's first passenger train journey. Each artist has been working with local community groups, including young creatives and asylum seekers, to reflect the people and places shaped by the S&DR and reveal the hidden histories of key railway stations.
The other artists are Morag Myerscough, Caroline Cardus, Lewis Hobson and Aida Wilde. Their new murals will be created alongside two existing public artworks on Stockton High Street and the Locomotion Bridge in Shildon (by Zak Newton and Allison Bentley). These pieces have been commissioned as part of the S&DR200 celebrations and have been made possible thanks to funding from Historic England, The Railway Heritage Trust and funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The S&DR Trail of Discovery can be explored at a variety of places on foot, by bike or by train from stations along the route. Visitors will also be able to see important heritage structures, including Skerne Bridge, the oldest railway bridge still in continuous use, and the Brusselton Incline, where a section of the original Stockton and Darlington track is still visible. A new game, voiced by broadcaster Steph McGovern, will use augmented reality to bring the parts of the route to life. The game is a legacy project developed and created by Tucan and the University of Teesside.
Adébayo Bolaji, artist, said: "Creating this first mural at Darlington Station has been a journey of connection - between time, community, and identity. Working with the Young Producers in Darlington has been inspiring; together, we've explored stories of movement and transformation and I'm looking forward to continuing this journey with them. This piece is about honouring the past while embracing the power of change; it's designed for the producers and myself to then collaborate on the next phase and create something that speaks to the place it's now hanging in, so that part two is an evolution of part one."
Find out more about www.sdr200.co.uk
S&DR200 is funded by Darlington Borough Council, Durham County Council and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. Other major funders include Arts Council England, Tees Valley Combined Authority, North East Combined Authority, and The National Heritage Lottery Fund. Other sponsors are LNER, Hitachi Amazon UK, Caswell’s, and Hampton Hilton.