From Workshop to Wall: A Delivery Breakdown of Bower Ashton’s Pillar Murals

This article outlines how Art Sync delivered a workshop-led mural project at UWE Bower Ashton, from early planning and artist selection through to student workshops and final installation. It breaks down the decisions, structure, and processes that supported both learning outcomes and a permanent artwork on campus.

Why This Project Came About

UWE’s creative agency, New Wave, approached Art Sync to support the delivery of practical, real-world learning opportunities in mural making. While there was clear student interest, murals are rarely taught within the curriculum, and previous attempts to run mural projects had highlighted the need for stronger structure, support, and risk management.

Professional Practice Week provided the right context to revisit this. The week is designed to give students hands-on exposure to potential career paths, and mural practice was identified as an area where students could benefit from industry-led insight rather than purely academic learning.

Together with New Wave and the university’s careers team, Art Sync developed a workshop-led mural project that would allow students to learn how mural projects are actually delivered (from design development through to installation) within a safe, supported, and professionally managed environment.

Shaping the Project Framework

After agreeing initial terms, Art Sync worked with New Wave to define the framework for the project. Early conversations focused on clarifying the purpose of the workshop, the constraints of the site, student involvement, and the practical realities of delivering a mural safely within a live university environment.

Rather than over-designing the project upfront, this stage was about identifying what needed to be in place before meaningful progress could be made including timelines, and the criteria that would inform artist selection. These early decisions ensured the project was set up realistically, with enough structure to support students while leaving room for creative input.

Selecting the Right Artist

With the project framework in place, Art Sync curated an artist suited to both the creative and practical demands of the brief. This decision went beyond style alone. Availability, budget, workshop experience, reliability, and the ability to work with students in a live setting were all critical factors.

Artist selection was a critical early decision. Working within UWE’s preference for alumni artists, Art Sync curated an artist who combined professional mural experience with the ability to work confidently in an educational setting. This choice directly shaped the success of both the workshop and the final installation.

Art Sync managed all negotiations and coordination with the artist, ensuring clear expectations, fair terms, and alignment across all parties before moving into detailed planning and delivery.

Creating a Creative Brief for Students

A clear creative brief was central to the success of the workshop. With a large group of students working simultaneously, structure wasn’t about limiting creativity, it was about giving everyone a shared starting point and preventing confusion before it arose.

Art Sync developed an initial creative brief using information gathered during the early planning stage. This set out the purpose of the project, the context of the space, practical constraints, and the expectations for a permanent installation. For students, this provided a realistic framework to design within and an introduction to how creative briefs are used in professional mural projects.

The brief was then refined collaboratively with New Wave and the wider project team. This process ensured alignment across all stakeholders while keeping the brief accessible and usable for students. By establishing this structure early, the workshop could focus on design development and learning, rather than clarifying basic parameters once work was already underway.

Preparing Behind the Scenes

Ahead of delivery, Art Sync coordinated the practical planning required to support a smooth and well-managed workshop. Meetings were scheduled to confirm timings, access, materials, and on-site requirements, ensuring all parties had a shared understanding of what would be delivered and when.

Risk assessments and method statements were prepared and submitted in line with university processes, providing reassurance around safety and enabling internal approvals to move forward without delay. This groundwork ensured that students, staff, and the artist could focus on the creative aspects of the project once delivery began.

A dedicated workshop review was also carried out with the lead artist to refine content, pacing, and expectations. This allowed the session to be realistic, valuable, and appropriate for the number of students involved, avoiding unnecessary pressure during delivery.

The Workshop: From Industry Context to Design

The workshop began by introducing 38 students to the realities of working as a mural artist. Rather than focusing solely on painting, the session covered how mural projects are sourced, priced, and delivered. Including quoting, materials, installation methods, and the logistical considerations that sit behind large-scale public work. This gave students a grounded understanding of how mural practice operates beyond the studio.

The pillar project was then introduced, with students shown the four pillars they would be designing for. Working in groups, students began developing initial concepts using the creative brief as a framework. All materials were prepared in advance, allowing the session to focus on design development rather than setup or constraints.

The shift from industry context to hands-on design allowed students to apply what they had learned immediately. Engagement remained high throughout the session, with many students choosing to stay beyond the scheduled time to refine and complete their ideas.

Reviewing and Selecting Designs

Design review was structured to ensure decisions were clear, fair, and consistent. Art Sync introduced scorecards to assess each proposal against shared criteria, allowing designs to be reviewed objectively rather than through personal preference alone.

Art Sync and the lead artist used this process to shortlist submissions before presenting selected designs for approval. One proposal was chosen to set the overall creative direction, with remaining designs then adapted to align across the full set of pillars.

This approach supported confident decision-making while maintaining transparency for students, ensuring the selection process felt constructive and considered rather than subjective.

From Designs to Walls

The day following the design workshop, students were invited back to begin translating the selected designs onto the pillars using chalk. This stage introduced students to how mural concepts are scaled and laid out in a real space, bridging the gap between digital design and physical installation.

For many students, this was their first experience working at scale. Seeing designs mapped directly onto the walls helped build an understanding of proportion, placement, and how artwork interacts with its surroundings, a key part of mural practice that often sits outside traditional design work.

During this stage, the lead artist worked across the pillars to introduce connecting elements and ensure the overall composition felt cohesive. A final review was carried out with the project team, and approval was given to move into the painting phase the following day.

The Installation

Installation day brought the project fully to life. The session began with a briefing from the lead artist, covering paint choices, tools, and techniques to support the painting process. Students then worked together to prepare the site, learning the importance of protection and setup before any paint was applied.

Students chose which designs they wanted to contribute to and worked collaboratively across the pillars, often sharing sections and supporting one another throughout the day. This created a focused, collective working environment, with students contributing at their own pace while working toward a shared outcome.

Art Sync oversaw delivery on site, ensuring safe working practices were followed and that students, staff, and the artist were supported throughout.

Closing Out the Project

Following installation, Art Sync returned to site to carry out a final quality review. Remaining chalk markings were removed, finishing details were checked, and final photographs were taken to document the completed work. These were then shared with the wider project team.

A follow-up meeting was held to review delivery, gather feedback, and formally close out the project. The organisers reflected positively on both the process and the outcome, with interest in exploring similar workshop-led mural projects in the future.

If this approach feels relevant to your own space or organisation, we’d be happy to talk through what might work for you.