Interactive wildlife murals which will bring artwork to life at the touch of an app will be introduced at a shopping centre.
Community Interest Company (CIC) Things Made Public is once again teaming up with The Brewery shopping centre for its partnership project Take A Walk On The Wild Side which aims to educate the community about wildlife around the borough.
In 2017, international street artist DZIA installed the Peregrine Falcon mural by the escalators leading to Vue cinema, an animal which was chosen as they can often be seen perching on the shopping centre tower.
The artist then created the Mr Fox mural by Starbucks after seeing a fox on one of its nightly visits.
DZIA will create eight more wildlife-themed murals that will depict a range of creatures that inhabit the area, creating a non-traditional nature trail throughout the centre.
These murals will be accompanied by an interactive, augmented reality app that will bring each of the animals to life.
With this, overlaid sensory information can be seamlessly interwoven with the artworks creating a truly immersive experience for each person that engages with the murals.
The app will serve as an educational tool, sharing facts about the habitat and lives of the creatures, including what they eat, where they live, and how many are in the wild.
It will also tell users the closest nature reserves and conservation areas in which they reside.
The purpose is to educate residents on the nature and wildlife around the borough and encourage the community to make changes to their lives and routines that promote the conservation of our environment.
Work on the murals will start on Saturday, July 6.
Centre manager Tom Stobbart said: "With so much interest still generated from The Falcon mural that we installed next to Vue Cinema, we wanted to give the people of Romford more art work to inspire them.
"However, this time we wanted it to be more involved and interactive.
"Creating this mural trail around The Brewery will give people the chance to admire even more art work.
"Whether they are just passing through or partaking in the full trail and finding all of the pieces throughout the scheme, its set to be an exciting addition to the centre."
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