Brightening up Brighton; Kate Forrester’s illustrates the city as part of the Enliven Art Trail.

Kate Forrester has teamed up with other artists and organisations as part of the ABCD Cultural Recovery Plan to help showcase the vibrant act scene in and around Brighton.

Decorating planters along one of the busiest roads in Brighton, Kate’s illustrations are part of a larger art trail that spreads across walls, bus stops, lampposts and street furniture to coincide with cultural and music events.

Taking the theme of ‘Community and Kindness’, Kate infused her illustrations with the perspective of the past few years; a new appreciations of socialising and building connections in ways which were off limits during lockdown.

‘I was intending to make each design a nod to our 5 senses but was limited by time and budget so there are three senses represented – Taste, touch and hearing.

TOUCH is represented by my interpretation of the sea swimming community which has bloomed during the pandemic – nothing makes you feel more alive than an icy dunk in the sea at sunrise!

TASTE is an ode to Brighton food and its importance to our city and the way we socialise. Just watch out for the thieving seagull!

HEARING – the third sense represented is music and the joy it brings to our streets, how it unites a crowd of strangers…’

The artworks were hand drawn and digitally coloured, then printed onto vinyl to be wrapped around the planters, working in one continuous loop around each pot. Kate’s pots and the trail as a whole add a real sense of vibrancy to the city during the greyer months, “this project was special to me as it represents our city and the collective will in our community to recover from this difficult time we have experienced since the pandemic. I cant wait to attend future events in this program – ironically I missed the first one this month because I had covid!!”