Street art with a message will be popping up across Waltham Forest over the next two weeks.

The first ever Paint Your London will see a group of artists cover walls across the area with 20 creative and colourful murals over 11 days to highlight the need for more affordable artist workspaces within the borough.

It is part of the Mayor’s Find Your London event which features 100 events celebrating the capital’s outdoor spaces, from gardens to parks and high streets to marketplaces.

Local artists taking part include Walthamstow’s Mark McClure, Elno, ATMA, Hatch and Lucinda Ireland; Jamie Sludge and Leticia Molera from Leytonstone and Core246 from Leyton.

The event was due to kick off today (Mar 18) with Louis Masai painting a wall at 2 Lancaster Road and will culminate on March 29 in a project with Irish street artist Maser who will be unveiling a huge full building installation supported by Waltham Forest Council and Fermax.

An interactive map and schedule has been created for the event so people can go along and watch the artworks being created and it also provides local highlights such as cafes, parks, shops and beyond to celebrate what Waltham Forest has to offer.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

Previous work by some of the artists. Credit: Penny Dampier

Paint Your London is the brainchild of street art collective Wood Street Walls, which was established in 2014 by a group of Walthamstow residents who wanted to make art more accessible through the installation of public art and have spearheaded the creation of more than 15 murals already in Waltham Forest.

Co-founder Mark Clack says: ““It’s really important to us that we use the murals to showcase the talent within the borough.

“Waltham Forest has a long creative heritage with Alfred Hitchock and William Morris having strong links to the borough. However there is currently a lack of workspace for our creative community and we are using the installation of public art to highlight the number of artists living around us but who are unable to work here due to the small number of studios available.”

Details: paintyourlondon.co.uk