Local students to produce large-scale graffiti works in final stage of IGMT project

On Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 August, visitors to Coalbrookdale’s museums will be able to see students from Telford College produce graffiti works in a project led by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust (IGMT) and funded by Historic England.

The two-day event is the culmination of a project that began in early 2025, after the Trust, a heritage conservation and education charity, was awarded an Everyday Heritage Grant by Historic England. 

Everyday Heritage Grants are awarded for projects that celebrate working class histories and the historic places that make up everyday life. For this IGMT project, sixth-form students from Telford College have worked with the Trust and local graffiti artist Neil Willis to create graffiti works inspired by the everyday working lives of people in the Ironbridge Gorge.

Having visited three of the Trust’s museums, Blists Hill Victorian Town, Coalport China Museum and Jackfield Tile Museum, to learn about the history of the buildings and the working people associated with them, the students, who are aged 16 to 18, are now collaborating in groups to produce three large-scale works of graffiti, one representing each of the museums they have visited. The public will be able to watch them at work and see them put the graffiti skills they have learnt from Neil into action.

Andrea Nelson, Community Engagement and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Manager at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, said: “We are really looking forward to seeing the works that the students from Telford College will produce, inspired by the museums’ stories and making use of the skills Neil Willis has been teaching them.

“We know that young people often think of museums as historical, old fashioned and not for them, and this is just one of the projects we have been running with young people to help them see this isn’t the case.

“We are very grateful to Historic England for the Everyday Heritage Grant that has made this project possible.”

To coincide with the live graffiti event, the Trust will also be displaying works by local artists including the painters and signwriters working at the Trust’s Blists Hill Victorian Town museum and the graffiti works produced by the students as they have honed their skills. Caribbean food will also be available to buy, provided by Lola's Kitchen.

Visitors are encouraged to come and see the students at work on the Coalbrookdale Green and in the Covered Bays at Coalbrookdale (next to Enginuity), from 10am to 5pm on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 August.