An innovative form of local support took place in Haringey during the second half of 2020. Haringey is another inner city borough with a tough tale to tell: incidents on the notorious housing estate Broadwater Farm, the riots following the shooting of Mark Duggan.
Haringey’s social services have come under much media focus over the years, giving the borough a particularly sensitive reputation. However, it is also a borough with a thriving business community of small shops and businesses and it was in this area that Albert Clegg and Zoe Alleyne from art studio Bud Studio, turned their attention.
Bud Studio
The Green Lanes area of Tottenham is home to a strong community of restaurants and shops. Many of these were significantly affected by the requirement to close during lockdown and the high street itself began to empty, rows of grey metal shutters indicating the closures.
As part of an effort both to celebrate local small business and to keep these locked-down shops in peoples’ minds, Albert, Zoe and their creative colleagues at Bud Studio, with Philippine Nguyen and support from Haringey Council, launched the Shutter Gallery project.
Volunteer art project
This was a volunteer art project offering a free shutter makeover to any Tottenham business. The first shutters were painted in September 2020 on Tottenham High Road and West Green Road and so far, 33 businesses have received a free, creative and colourful shutter makeover courtesy of Bud Studio.
For example, estate agents Hunters had a football inspired design painted by artist Albert Agwa in reference to the owners’ love of playing football together when they were both kids over twenty five years ago.
Local lettering artist Archie Proudfoot designed a shutter for wine shop Tottenham Wine, which gave a vintage flavour to sipping a cocktail in the Caribbean. Hannah Elizabeth designed a subtle view of the swifts that are seen over the nearby Tottenham Marshes for gift shop Small Boulevard.
All the artists were paid for their designs – a big part of the project was about creating paid opportunities for local artists. Overall, these 33 designs and spray paint pictures both boosted the morale of small business owners who were forced to close their shops during lockdown, and they also raised the spirits of the community who could now enjoy a high street with unique and creative shutter designs.
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