Art celebrating heritage, history and culture has been unveiled at the Katesgrove underpass in Reading. The underpass links the path along the County Lock and Katesgrove Lane.
The mural features a character called 'Kate from the Grove' interacting with the Spring Gardens Brass Band, scenes of work at a tannery and the Siege of Reading during the English Civil War in 1643.
It was created by Guglielmo Miccolupi and Laura from the art group Commando Jugendstil, in partnership with Reading Borough Council and the Katesgrove Community Association. The project was coordinated by Christine Lalley, a member of the association.
The completion was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting by Alice Mpofu-Coles (Labour, Whitley), the mayor of Reading, on Sunday 1 February. Matt Rodda, the Labour MP for Reading Central, who attended the event, said: “I was delighted to open the mural in the underpass at Katesgrove Lane with cllr Mpofu-Coles, the artist and Navjit Gill and Christine Lalley from Katesgrove Community Association.
“This beautiful mural celebrates our community and local history, and I would like to thank the artists Guglielmo and Laura and everyone who helped make this amazing project such a success.”
Posting on Facebook, cllr Louise Keane (Green, Katesgrove) said she was “super proud” of the “team effort” that led to the creation of the mural, with £100,000 of council funding being invested in the project. She also thanked local historians and children from Katesgrove Primary School.
Judenstil means 'youth style' in German. Mr Rodda served as a Katesgrove councillor from 2011 to 2017.
James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter
