An eye catching mural has been painted in Southend high street to send a message of gratitude to all key workers who have been putting themselves at risk to help us throughout this global pandemic.
The railway bridge artwork was commissioned by Southend Business Improvement District (BID) to thank all of our key workers in Southend who have been working on the front line to keep the town running safely during this crisis. A message of “Thank You Key Workers” tops the piece and keeps the focus on portraits of people who have worked through the pandemic including nurses, Street Rangers, refuse collectors, retail workers, delivery drivers, cleaners, police officers, teachers, doctors and postal workers.
The colourful artwork was created by Nik Vaughn and Scotty Brave, also known as Brave Arts. Scotty, who organised the mural, has worked with Southend BID previously to paint a portrait of Nathalie Emmanuel for the Essex Birds, A Celebration collection and the artwork that brightened up Southend across the hoardings of the old BHS building.
Commenting on his creation, Scotty Brave said: “We saw a lot of murals portraying NHS workers as superheroes, they were brilliant. We wanted Southend’s version not to be so obvious. We wanted the keyworkers to have their moment. So our mural is made up of portraits of all the unsung heroes that worked throughout the lockdown. Some you might recognise, many you won’t. These are the people that kept the country going, so Southend wanted to say a big thank you to all of them”.
Southend BID Manager, Suzanne Gloyne said: “I wanted to have a ‘thank you’ piece commissioned since the Thursday night clap started back in March. At a time when more people will start returning to work, I wanted to show our appreciation for the thousands that have been quietly working around town throughout this period to keep us safe and healthy, to make sure we have food and essentials, and to ensure everything behind the scenes keeps running.”
She added: “Scotty Brave is a great artist who always creates beautiful and powerful images and this time is no exception, and I was pleased to see it put together with Nik Vaughn too. This artwork will be a small message of gratitude to let key workers know that everyone in Southend recognises and is thankful to them for the work they have been doing.”
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