New artwork celebrates local stories and community spirit in Friary Park  

A new public artwork created with Acton residents and young people was unveiled at Friary Park Community Centre in Acton as part of a Black History Month celebration. 

Published: 18/12/2025

The event marked the completion of a special heritage project that honours the stories, memories, and hopes of local residents, past and present. 

Delivered by ARTification, a charity that brings together people and places through art, we jointly funded the project alongside developer Mount Anvil as part of the Friary Park regeneration.  

A celebration of people and place 

Over about 18 months, residents of Friary Park and Acton shared their stories, photos, and memories through creative workshops and interviews for the Y-OUR Story: Friary Park History project.  

These contributions inspired the new public artwork called “Echoes of Friary Park” which was created by artists from The Imprint Hub collective. Weaving together images, maps, and words the piece reflects both the neighbourhood’s rich history and its bright future. 

Alongside the artwork, a short film and an exhibition were created to celebrate the spirit of the area and the people who live there. The exhibition at the community centre filled the space with artwork created during the workshops, historic photographs and a collaborative piece reflecting residents’ visions for the future of Friary Park. 

Filmmakers Mike McKenzie, Director of MAD4 Films and Erduan Xhaferi, Creative Director of Society Dance Academy / SD Media (Youth Led Media Team) led the film project. They worked with community partners JE Delve - a local youth charity, which was set up by the late Jamal Edwards MBE, who once lived in Friary Park. Young local people helped to create the film, learning new skills in storytelling, oral history, design and filmmaking along the way. 

At a special event to celebrate the launch Rupa Huq, MP for Ealing Central & Acton cutting the ribbon to unveil the artwork.

Residents, guests and community partners enjoyed a screening of the project film, speeches from local partners. There was also a performance of spoken word, poetry and rap by some of the young people who attend youth sessions run by JE Delve at Friary Park.  

Sonshine Smiles, a community organisation that organises trips for residents and ran the summer programme earlier this year, also hosted a Black History Month workshop at the event. 

Looking ahead, there are plans to move the artwork to the new permanent community centre, which is planned to be built during phase three of the redevelopment of Friary Park.  

The regeneration, which we are delivering in partnership with Mount Anvil, will bring around 1,345 homes along with new green spaces and improvements for pedestrians, making the neighbourhood even safer, more well-connected and welcoming for everyone.