Crown Paints has teamed up with one of Lancashire’s most famous street artists to create two colourful murals in the Lancashire town of Darwen, where Crown’s HQ is located.

The latest mural was completed by Keiron ‘Curly’ Whitehead in time for pupils at St Edwards RC primary School in Darwen to return to lessons at the start of the autumn term. The colourful mural, which features local landmarks and an uplifting message, brightens up the playground, providing a fun space for the children to enjoy.

Better known as Curly, Keiron has been a graffiti artist for over 20 years and also works full time for the NHS, and like Crown, is based in Darwen.

The collaboration between Crown and Curly began in May with the creation of a large mural designed as a tribute to the fantastic work of the local NHS and other key workers during the pandemic. The ‘blank canvas’ chosen for the mural was an end of terrace house on Hollins Road, just a few yards from Crown’s HQ.

Curly created both murals using Sandtex X-Treme X-Posure smooth masonry paint in a range of vivid colours and all paint for both projects was donated by Crown via its Crown Decorating Centre in Blackburn.

Commenting, Keiron said: “I’m so proud to work alongside Crown Paints to create these two murals.  I really hope the community enjoys the artworks as much I enjoyed creating them and I’m sure the message of gratitude for the NHS that has inspired the design will go far and wide.

“Just after we completed the first mural, a crowdfunding page was set up to raise money to support local people who had been affected by COVID-19. A total of £1,600 was raised within a matter of weeks and this has been donated to the local food bank and the Wish Centre, a Darwen-based domestic violence refuge. A small amount was also used to purchase art supplies for upcoming community projects at the Darwen Heritage Centre.”

Vannessa Knowles, headteacher at St Edwards RC Primary School commented: “The vibrant colours and amazing artwork has really enhanced our school space. It has been wonderful to work with a local community artist and Crown Paints to create a wonderful mural that inspires hope for years to come.”

Crown Paints’ corporate communications executive, Josie Cawdry added: “Along with the rest of the UK, we are extremely grateful to our keyworkers and especially proud of our NHS. It’s been heartening to see so many colourful drawings and messages of support displayed in people’s windows and we thought that it would be nice to do something a little more permanent! We hope that our mural not only raises a few smiles in the local community but also serves as a lasting tribute to thanks we all owe to our amazing NHS and key workers.”

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