How local artists turned a footbridge in Bexhill into a gallery

It follows on from an earlier successful project that encouraged local artists to submit their work to be displayed on the footbridge that crosses the railway line from Devonshire Square.

The grand opening was scheduled for Saturday with plans for a street party with live music and pop-up food stalls, but was postponed due to the heavy rain and high winds.

This will now take place at a later date to be arranged.

The Footbridge Project is a community arts initiative which, through a competition with residents in Rother and Hastings, has helped transform Bexhill’s railway footbridge into a colourful public open-air art gallery.

The initial successful project was opened in 2021 by Bexhill MP Huw Merriman and Keane’s Tom Chaplin.

Huw Merriman praised the idea as ‘a wonderfully inclusive project for the community to get behind’.

The idea of the Footbridge Gallery was conceived in 2019 by husband and wife Tim and Diana Birch who wanted to transform the Bexhill railway station footbridge into a colourful public open-air art gallery with the aim of bringing some cheer to people during the Covid pandemic.

The aim of the project was to create a positive and lasting impact on the area, in a location which has fallen into disrepair in recent years, while making art in Bexhill more visible, accessible and inspiring for the community.

The idea started to become a reality, with increasing local support. A competition was subsequently launched and encouraged Rother and Hastings residents to submit artworks across a range of different mediums, including photography, painting, knitting, sculpture, and even sound.

The public response to the competition was overwhelming, with over 130 artworks submitted from people of all ages. The 80 or so winning entries were digitally ‘framed’ by Timothy Birch, who created 50 metres of artwork which was printed by The Sussex Sign Company onto graffiti-proof vinyl and applied to the walls of the footbridge.

Version 2 of the project, which launched on Sunday follows on from the idea to refresh the artwork every two years by inviting new submissions.

Tim and Diana said: “The new gallery of art is in place on the footbridge and looks wonderful. Do go along and see it when you can. Thank you to everyone who helped to make this possible. We will keep you posted as we try to reschedule the launch.”

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