Creative Croydon for all

Have you looked up while you’ve been walking around the town centre this week? The fourth edition of the Creative Croydon exhibition hit our streets on Sunday.

In case you’re new to Croydon, this is the exhibition we’ve been running with Croydon BID and our alter ego 31% Wool (our day job) since 2022 where we curate the work of a group of local artists to be showcased on 40+ lamppost banners around the centre of Croydon.

Like in 2024, in September we ran a competition to find our 2025 artists, but this time we opened it up to Croydon-based creatives of any age (last year was specifically for young artists). All the entries were judged by a panel of previous Creative Croydon artists – a big thank you to Beatrix Finch, Thomas Oldfield, Melanie Russell, Divya Sharma and Lis Watkins, who were tasked with the extremely difficult job of selecting the winning art from the huge amount of fantastic entries submitted.

There was no specific theme, other than feeling vibrant to brighten our streets as we move into Autumn, and we all agreed that the winning art, which is so diverse in style, does this job brilliantly. We announced this year’s commissioned artists on our social channels at the beginning of October, and now their work is on our streets for all to enjoy.

Let’s hear more from the artists, Alec Saunders, Shirley Shephard and Alex Mouette.

Croydonist: Tell us a bit about you and your art.

Alec: I fuse cultural voices with sustainable practice, transforming walls into living mirrors of our shared humanity. More than images, my work purifies the air, reclaims discarded materials, and celebrates diversity while committing to the planet we share. Art for All. Art for Tomorrow.

Croydonist: Tell us about your Creative Croydon pieces.

Alec: My work portrays the people of Croydon set against the backdrop of its distinctive 1960s–70s architecture, most notably the iconic Nestlé building. These portraits capture the everyday residents who shape the character of the area, grounding the work in both community and place. One of the pieces incorporates a vinyl record in the background, a reference to Croydon’s role in the birth of dubstep, with roots in Surrey Street Market and the legendary Big Apple Records. Through this layering of people, music, and architecture, the work highlights Croydon’s cultural identity and the ways its history continues to influence its present.

Croydonist: Tell us a bit about you and your art.

Shirley: I am a retired primary school teacher and have lived in Croydon all my life. I enjoy drawing and painting in water colours. I used to do botanical illustration but now concentrate on portraying the natural world in general, as I am passionate about the environment.

Croydonist: Tell us about your Creative Croydon pieces.

Shirley: The two paintings of woodland are Littleheath Woods, Selsdon, where I walk with my dog most days and also do some voluntary work. The other one is Coombe Wood Gardens – another of Croydon’s lovely green spaces. We are lucky to have so many local green spaces.

Croydonist: Tell us a bit about you and your art.

Alex: I’m currently attending The BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology, where I’m studying Digital Arts. Prior to that, I was home-educated. I’ve lived in Croydon all of my life. Since a young age, I have always been passionate about digital artwork, which I have experimented with in a variety of ways.”

Croydonist: Tell us about your Creative Croydon pieces.

Alex: ‘The Croydon Moquettes’, a selection of patterns based on the famous Barman Moquette. This version shows notable landmarks around Croydon like the Clocktower and Addington Palace.