New murals celebrate rich musical legacy of Lewisham

Local artists breathe new life into Loampit Vale shopfronts.

As part of our upcoming redevelopment of Lewisham Retail Park, we teamed up with the Brockley Max Festival to commission two talented local artists to transform three vacant shopfronts with bold and beautiful new murals, celebrating the spirit of Lewisham.

Positioned prominently on Loampit Vale, the murals offer the artists a platform to showcase their work to thousands of passers-by each day, ahead of the site’s transformation into a new residential community.

From nine outstanding entries, two artists were selected with work undertaken in early May. British lettering artist Luke Smile is renowned for his large-scale vibrant typographic murals which sit at the intersection of fine art, design and street culture. He has transformed the Carpet Direct shutters with the lyrics, ‘Oh baby, it’s a wild world’, taken from the 1987 cover of ‘Wild World’ sung by Lewisham’s very own Maxi Priest.

The bold and dynamic spraypainted mural is a celebration of the British reggae vocalist of Jamaican descent who was born and raised in Lewisham, with the lyrics “chosen to reflect the uncertain times we’re living in”.