Activating the OpenAIR Gallery: A New Chapter for Creativity in New Brighton
Rory Wilmer Rory Wilmer

Activating the OpenAIR Gallery: A New Chapter for Creativity in New Brighton

Today we launch something bigger than a video, bigger than a campaign — it’s a statement of intent. New Brighton Creative Futures is activating the OpenAIR Gallery as a living, breathing creative engine for the town. Not just a place to look at murals, but a place to learn from them, create with them, and build futures around them.

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Captain Mike Lowe Mural Inauguration — A Moment of Community, Memory and Mersey Pride
Rory Wilmer Rory Wilmer

Captain Mike Lowe Mural Inauguration — A Moment of Community, Memory and Mersey Pride

New Brighton came together in extraordinary style for the inauguration of the Captain Mike Lowe mural — an afternoon that felt less like an event and more like a collective exhale. After years of turbulence in the local cultural landscape, this was a moment of reconnection: emotional, grounded, and deeply human. A kind of community healing, shaped by shared stories and the pride of a town rediscovering its creative strength.

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Why Everyone’s Talking About the Captain on the Wall in New Brighton
Rory Wilmer Rory Wilmer

Why Everyone’s Talking About the Captain on the Wall in New Brighton

Sometimes the best ideas start with a simple conversation. This one began at a meeting of the New Brighton Partnership, where local businesses and community groups come together to share ideas, stories, and a bit of hope for the town’s future. Pauline from the Floral Pavilion turned to me and said, “What about a mural for Captain Mike Lowe?”

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Mr Penfold — Colour, Rhythm, and the Courage to Do Your Own Thing
Interviews Rory Wilmer Interviews Rory Wilmer

Mr Penfold — Colour, Rhythm, and the Courage to Do Your Own Thing

Some artists chase realism. Mr Penfold (Tim Ford) chases rhythm: shape, line, balance, and colour tuned until they hum. The nickname stuck from school; the drawing never stopped. He started writing at 11–12, moved into characters by 15, then rode that early, nameless moment before “street art” was a label—logos, stencils, playful figures—until his taste and hand matured into the bold abstraction he’s known for now.

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Ben Eine — Words on Walls, Words That Stick
Interviews Rory Wilmer Interviews Rory Wilmer

Ben Eine — Words on Walls, Words That Stick

There are artists who chase images, and there are artists who chase letters. Ben Eine has built an entire career out of the latter. His obsession with typography has taken him from London’s train yards to the White House, from painting in the dead of night to being photographed by the International Space Station. Always the same pursuit: the power of words when you see them written large across a wall.

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