Since the start of the first lockdown in March 2020, the Maguires team worked from home until early 2024. One of the unexpected results of this move was the ability for each member of the team to feel closer to their local community.
Whether it’s lunches spent locally, taking the dog for a morning walk or doing the school run – we’re all better connected to where we live. This connection led to a unique collaboration between our Creative Director Chris Hannah and his local community council in Cambuslang.
After reading in the local press about plans to create a series of murals to brighten up neglected sites across the town, Chris was keen to offer his services free of charge, allowing the Community Council to invest their funds in ways.
Clare Williamson, vice-chair of Cambuslang Community Council and member of the Gateway Group said:
“Since we started doing community surveys in 2015, local residents have been telling us that they want a modern, vibrant, and welcoming environment for the town. Together with our streetscape project, the Gateway artwork is intended to demonstrate our civic pride, and a strong sense of belonging for local residents and businesses who live and work in the town. More importantly, we hope that the project will attract visitors and invite local people to the town centre to support local businesses to keep our town centre thriving for years to come.”
The first mural has been installed at the entrance to Cambuslang Station. Through a number of engagement sessions run by the Community Council, the most popular places and spaces in the town were identified, allowing Chris to develop a series of 12 original illustrations that would form a central part to mural design, now known as ‘The Station Wall’.
The project would also see the completion of two further murals, known as ‘The Sunflower Wall’ and ‘The Welcome Wall’.
As these two murals required painting – rather than the printed vinyls boards at the Station Wall – Chris engaged the services of signwriters Artisan Artworks.
The idea for ‘The Sunflower Wall’ mural came from a simple act of kindness.
During lockdown, five year old Hamish Shea grew a sunflower from seed and left it in a pot on the town’s main thoroughfare for everyone to enjoy. Local residents were so touched by the gesture that Cambuslang Community Council was inspired to create a mural and a permanent seating area with planters in the same spot.
The final mural – ‘The Welcome Wall’ – acts as a vibrant signpost for those entering the town, distinct in its own right, but utilising the same colour palette used across all three murals.
As well as receiving record levels of engagement for the Community Council on social media, the story of Hamish and the Cambuslang murals attracted local and national press coverage.
The Gateway Project is a partnership between Cambuslang Community Council, Cambuslang Rotary Club, Grow 73, Network Rail, Scotrail, National Lottery, Community Rail Partnership, local residents, Maguires Agency, SLC Rutherglen and Cambuslang Area Committee, SLC Ground Services, SLC Unpaid Work Team, SLC Youth Family Community Learning Service.
