Brighton & Hove City Council and Brilliant Brighton (a not-for-profit organisation, formed of 517 retail, leisure and hospitality businesses within the city centre) have teamed up to make use of vacant premises within Brighton city centre for a pilot project.

One of the ways they hope to ‘brighten up’ empty premises is with a small selection of commissioned art installations by local artists. The first window installation, in the former Snow+Rock unit on Market Street is by Nikki Shaill (also known as Originary Arts) and features bold, Brighton-inspired illustrations, such as West Pier, the Pavilion and Hove beach huts.

Brighton artist Nikki Shaill of Originary Arts describes her design as: “a celebration of the iconic shapes, colours and symbols of this unique city. I’ve used geometric designs, the signature primary colour palette of Bauhaus and Originary Arts, plus playful paper forms to create a layered installation that I hope evokes curiosity and joy. The design is inspired by sights and landmarks of Brighton that I love, plus ideas that the local community have contributed to the project and I have interpreted into the artwork.”

“I’m really proud and excited to take over this fantastic location in the Lanes. I work part time (as an arts learning manager) just around the corner and I love the area that it is in, where there is such a vibrant atmosphere. It’s exciting to think that lots of different people will be able to walk past and I hope that people will stop them to look, even if just for a moment as they pass by. I hope all ages will enjoy it and I’ve designed it with children in mind to enjoy it too. I hope that my design brings even more colour, joy and playfulness to this already creative area of the city centre.”

Over 80 local artists submitted proposals to the ‘Brightening Up Brighton’ brief, showing the level of creativity within the city. Five artists have been commissioned by Brighton & Hove City Council – subject to property availability, to add interest to empty properties.

Shelley Welti, media officer for Brilliant Brighton said: “It’s been fantastic to see such enthusiasm for the window dressing opportunities, and we’re so excited to unveil Nikki’s bold, eye-catching and vibrant installation. We hope that local residents and visitors alike will enjoy the display in what was previously an empty premises! We’d love to hear from other landlords and managing agents in the city, who would be interested in brightening up their vacant properties with artist installations!”

Sarah Lulham, Asset Manager of Redevco adds: “Hanningtons is delighted to be part of the Brightening up Brighton campaign – we all need an injection of colour right now and Nikki Shaill’s work is both vibrant and fun. We are grateful to her, Brilliant Brighton and Brighton & Hove City Council for dressing the former Snow+Rock store on Market Street and look forward to more installations over the summer. This is the fifth artists’ collaboration at Hanningtons, following on from our hugely successful Alice and Circus art murals, University of Brighton student exhibition and Brazilian inspired wavy lines, which have just been refreshed. It is a colourful area to browse, meet, shop, eat and drink and I’m sure Nikki’s work will bring in many more visitors to this area of the Lanes.”

The exciting pilot project between Brighton & Hove City Council and Brilliant Brighton will also see Brighton & Hove City Council’s vacant city centre properties utilised by arts organisations for six month tenancies (please note: submissions for this have now closed), as well as matching businesses with private landlords for short term rental opportunities. To find out more please visit: brightonpopupshops.co.uk

About the meanwhile uses project

The meanwhile uses project is a temporary scheme to utilise empty retail and hospitality venues in Brighton city centre. The project is delivered by Brilliant Brighton in partnership with Brighton & Hove City Council to create short-term pop-up shop opportunities and enhance the appearance of vacant properties.

About Nikki Shaill

Nikki Shaill is an artist, creator and founder of Originary Arts. She has over twenty years experience in arts and cultural curation and creation. From live art and theatrical design to paper installations and illustration, she is a creative shape-shifter and colour lover. Cultural events producer, artist, illustrator, curator, maker, story mentor and arts workshop leader, whichever hat she is wearing, the threads that connect all of Nikki’s work are imagination, creativity and play. Recent projects include digital participatory film The Rainbow Parade, The Originarium exhibition and online arts workshops for all ages.
See more from Nikki at originary.co.uk and on Instagram.

About Brilliant Brighton

Brilliant Brighton (also known as Brighton’s Business Improvement District) is a not-for-profit organisation formed of 517 businesses within Brighton city centre – with the aim of making Brighton a brilliant place to live, work and visit.
Current projects their members provide include: lighting the city with Christmas lights, dressing the city in the summer (with bunting, hanging baskets and decorative banners) and an on-street Ambassador service who assist with everything from security to signposting and first aid.

About Brighton & Hove City Council

Brighton & Hove City Council delivers more than 700 services to local residents and is one of the largest employers in Sussex, employing around 10,000 staff.

Our aim is to make a real difference to people’s everyday lives and to play our part in supporting the long-term recovery, wellbeing and prosperity of all our residents.

The city is known for its unique retail, leisure and cultural offer. It has become recognised for the strength of its small business economy and as a hub of creativity, innovation and enterprise.

Our vision for economic growth builds on these considerable strengths, helping Brighton & Hove to evolve as a more successful and resilient city.