Laura Nevill’s #LetsDoLondonBetter comes to life at Westfield London
Laura Nevill x Westfield London #LetsDoLondonBetter
A campaign originally launched by Laura Nevill, using the power of mockups has just hit the very real and busy streets of Westfield London and Stratford City.
Laura initially lit a spark in the creative community on Instagram and Twitter when the £7 million ‘Let’s Do London’ campaign run by the Mayor of London, featuring the work of iconic artist David Hockney, spread across the underground and was widely critiqued.
Laura’s original post on Instagram said: “Now I have nothing but love for David Hockney and in normal circumstances would applaud him for causing such a stir but it is so disheartening to see that a multimillion pound campaign to bring London together after the pandemic and get people to visit the city started with an artwork created for Piccadilly Circus by a multimillionaire artist who lives in the USA👎🏻”
It’s clear that this opportunity could have had greater impact if centred around sharing positive and uplifting messages, demonstrated beautifully by the many creatives who got involved with the alternative campaign.
In a statement on Instagram, independent designer and artist Laura Nevill said: “I am absolutely buzzing to announce that I am working with @westfieldlondon @westfieldstratfordcity as a Curator in Residence to bring my #LetsDoLondonBetter campaign to life and help raise the profiles for local artists and generate support across the UK for creative communities to flourish.”
Laura Nevill x Westfield London #LetsDoLondonBetter featuring the work of @AlanaMcDowell
“I think we should get Sadiq Khan to use the #LetsDoLondon campaign to highlight actual London artists who have incredible talents and important messages to showcase,” Laura also said on Twitter.
Throughout the summer, visitors to Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City will be able to view a host of artworks from over 30 emerging artists in an exhibition that mixes digital and physical works.
To support artistic communities, Westfield and Ocean Outdoor have donated a value-in-kind media and space package which would normally be leased at £1 million. The package includes around 30 key large format digital advertising sites and London’s biggest full motion retail screen, physical stores and physical exhibition spaces, as well as support across its social channels.
Laura Nevill x Westfield London #LetsDoLondonBetter featuring the work of @the_last_dodo
The campaign kicks off with 34 artists selected by Laura to exhibit at Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City.
“It is an incredible feeling to be able to give these artists such a large platform to showcase their work on and reach such a large audience whilst also giving the people of London a feast for the eyes and soul.
We’ve all had a collective emotional moment seeing our works on the big screen as it’s just something I could never have even imagined let alone thought could happen in real life and if there ever was an advert for not giving up on something you believe in this is it.” Concluded Laura.
Laura Nevill x Westfield London #LetsDoLondonBetter featuring the work of @flatb0y
A spokesman for the Mayor of London’s office said: “Supporting creative freelancers, artists and performers will be at the heart of ‘Let’s Do London’ as it continues to develop throughout the year.” The initiative has great intentions, but having heard the true voices from the creative community, we might hopefully see a slight shift in the development of the campaign.
Hats off to Laura and the hundreds of other creatives who have shown the power of creating work led by passion and the impact we have as a community to spread these important messages.
