You only have to check out the Brighton Rainbow Crossing Forever page on Facebook to see how the rainbow has enchanted visitors and local people of all ages and persuasions. I should know as an exhibiting resident artist at JAG Gallery from the view outside my painting studio, I’ve seen the rainbow working its magic. It’s made Madeira Drive come alive rather than being treated as a car park.
Though not officially a crossing, as a piece of public ‘street’ art it encourages pedestrians to stop, look and listen and motorists to slow down, creating a traffic calming effect and rather magical effect. The rainbow effect on both visitors and locals to the area is a joy to see.
This truly is a piece of public art at street level, the rainbow has enchanted locals from all walks of life, groups and persuasions seen posing, performing and most of all, smiling somewhere over the rainbow.
Perhaps it’s time to develop this area. From Charleston to Morris dancing, bikers and beatniks. The rainbow’s proved to be a hit symbol of solidarity that reaches beyond Pride. Brighton and Hove city council wont solve the crossword by washing away the rainbow; I think we can safely say those who’ve seen the rainbow effect this past week would like to keep making Brighton safer, as well as brighter.
Support grows for the campaign to make the rainbow a permanent feature on Madeira Drive
A campaign to lobby Brighton & Hove Council to make a temporary Rainbow Crossing on Brighton’s Madeira Drive a more permanent feature is growing in momentum, with increasing support on social media and influential backers such as Green Party MP, Caroline Lucas. The Rainbow Crossing is making the neglected east side of Brighton Pier more than just a car park, providing a vibrant tourist attraction that appeals to people of all ages and persuasions, and creating a safe place to cross an otherwise dangerous road.
Madeira Drive in Brighton was given a bold makeover with street artwork representing Europe’s first official ‘rainbow crossing’ was unveiled to celebrate the release of We Can Change, a new song celebrating LGBT Pride month and championing equal rights by actress, musician and local resident, Heather Peace.
With many motorists exceeding the speed limit on Madeira Drive, and with the pedestrian walkway currently cordoned off because of erosion of the walkway and road above, accidents are a risk. Recently, a woman was knocked off her bike by a pedestrian who was crossing the bike lane. However, the Rainbow Crossing encourages pedestrians to stop, look and listen and motorists to slow down, creating a traffic calming effect.
This issue was the primary concern of Neil Sykes, of Modern World Gallery – located in the Madeira Drive artists’ quarter – who instigated the Rainbow Crossing Forever campaign and has been liaising with Brighton & Hove Council.
Neil Sykes says: “The response from the public has been heart-warming to say the least and, although nothing is yet official, people have been able to cross a busy road somewhat safer than before. The average speed of traffic appears to have reduced significantly which, again, is something that needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. I witness near misses on a daily basis, and dread the day that a fatality happens.”
He adds: “The Rainbow Crossing has uplifted the rather dreary Madeira Drive instantaneously, and has become a tourist attraction in its own right.”
Fellow campaigner, ‘rainbow warrior’ and JAG Gallery artist, Jacqueline Hammond, agrees: “The rainbow is working its magic in making Madeira Drive come alive. It is a prime example of public art and has successfully brightened up the beach, the road and the otherwise run down east side of the pier, making it more than just one huge car park. It was wonderfully apt watching the ‘I Charleston Brighton’ dancers performing their routine on the crossing while the proposal to retain it was being penned.”
Another local trader commented: “Our Rainbow Crossing could help bring much-needed clients to this otherwise downtrodden side of the pier, which benefits the businesses located here, and make the area more sustainable. Maybe it is high time to redevelop the whole east side of the pier.”
Green Party MP Caroline Lucas is an advocate of the Rainbow Crossing and supports its continuation. She said: “The Rainbow Crossing is a great tribute to the spirit of diversity and inclusiveness embraced by our city and it’s already clear that people really love it. I wholeheartedly support the campaign to keep the crossing, and was in touch with the Council at the beginning of the week to urge them to agree.” (see https://twitter.com/CarolineLucas/status/477227393493786624).
Negotiations took place on Friday 13 June between Neil Sykes, representing the Rainbow Crossing Forever campaign, and Brighton & Hove Council regarding making it permanent fixture. Jacqueline Hammond said: “Beyond Pride, everyone involved would like to keep making Brighton brighter. Whatever happened to rainbow warriors and CND symbol of peace? Other cities have grown to love this type of rainbow and realise its many benefits, while the creators have been granted permissions.”
The installation of the Rainbow Crossing was instigated to coincide with the release of the song ‘We Can Change’ by actress, musician and local resident, Helen Pearce. The song has been launched to celebrate LGBT Pride and champion equal rights.
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The Rainbow Crossing, created by local artists from a diverse range of disciplines, from oil painter Caia Matheson who relished the chance to help create such a large-scale canvas, to street artists paving the way; JAG Gallery resident stencil artists Zeezee Twenty Two and Cassette Lord who has existing permission from Brighton & Hove Council to place his popular cassette stencils to brighten up ugly green electrical and telecoms boxes and other ‘street furniture’.
Neil Sykes “As for maintaining the crossing up until Pride, we have financial pledges in place from various local sources, including the Pride team. If jet washing is suspended, then I have agreed with all those involved in the original work that we would freshen it up as early as the Monday they’re due to demolish it.”
Plans are currently being discussed to establish a Rainbow Maintenance Fund, where donations and sponsorship from local business can help keep the artwork looking fresh.
Neil explains: “The plan is to give the Rainbow Crossing another coat of paint and maintain it until Pride, and beyond. We’ll supply the paints, the brushes – after all we host a community artists working from their studios down here. Furthermore we have been given support and sponsorship from Johnstones of Hove, who mixed and supplied enough paint at cost price to cover the large area of public road.”
Jacqueline Hammond of JAG Gallery, who has designed a range of deckchairs to display outside the gallery this summer, now plans to design a rainbow deckchair. The proceeds from this new design could be donated to the Rainbow Maintenance Fund… if Brighton gets to keep Europe’s first Rainbow Crossing.
Members of the public are urged to do what they can to save the rainbow. Firstly, to “like” the Brighton Rainbow Forever Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/brightonrainbow?fref=ts and be prepared for a sit down protest to stop the council from jet washing it away at 5am on Monday 16 June.
Heather Peace unveils Europe’s first rainbow crossing in Brighton for LGBT Pride Month.
Madeira Drive in Brighton was given a bold makeover last weekend as street artwork representing Europe’s first official ‘rainbow crossing’ was unveiled to celebrate the release of We Can Change, a new song celebrating LGBT Pride month and championing equal rights by actress, musician and local resident, Heather Peace.
Created by local artists, the rainbow stretches across the road at the artists’ quarter of Madeira Drive and is expected to attract hundreds of people keen to follow the rainbow brick road for the first time in Europe.
Thank you to Heather Peace Caroline Lucas and the artist’s that painted it Caia Matheson Artist, Zeezee TwentyTwo, Cassette Lord, Roach Photography, Inky Biscuits Ltd, Julieanne Gilburt and resident & guest artists at JAG Art Studio and Gallery www.jagartgallery.co.uk
Great news and good progress made towards putting an end to retailers categorising toys according to gender. Toy retailer, The Entertainer has re categorised the toys it sells and will no longer use gender specific signage. Hooray!
I’ve been banging on about this for years, basically it boils down to blatant gender stereotyping. It’s rife when you think about it.
Labelling toys as pink or blue, girls or boys. Separate aisles for what’s classed as boys or girls toys. Pushing children (and parents) towards objects of play, ways to behave, things to do, that have been decided are for either girls or boys, not both. Thus reinforcing stereotypes of what it is to be male or female, right from the off. The Early Learning Centre. This is where it all starts. The rot sets in and girls begin their towards the sparkly world of looking pretty, acting dumb and becoming a princess.
Can’t bear the way they have aisles of pink packaged fluff for girls and label construction or making toys as blue so girls don’t want them because they’re boys toys. In the early years children are oblivious to this, everything is an object to explore, yet to be labelled, everything’s potentially a toy! It’s adults, society that apply the labels and supply the constructs of signified meaning of what the object is.
Children are mirrors and copycats, they want to do as we do, they copy each other and are particularly interested in what the elder ones are doing. This appears to have more sway than what gender the toys are stereotyped as.
They may well develop favourites, but its ‘us’ that decides they are into it because they are a boy, or a girl. Having grown up with society’s constructs on how to behave, parents may well encourage play with the toys that reinforce their child’s gender, over another, that labels their child as a ‘tomboy’ or ‘cissy.’ My sister once said, why do you always give my kids toys that involve sticks, because they always end up fighting with them.
My daughter went from playing with all sorts of bits and bobs, including the predominantly vehicle and construction based hand-me-down toys My youngest has the pick of the bunch as he’s got all the things they barely played with anyway, Im glad they get another chance of use. And it happens that the best kept and plentiful collections are those of his father. As in his day, kids took care of their toys. Personally I’d rather suggest playing with the Matchbox vehicles too.
He also watches the older ones on various digital games which are predominantly about ‘taking things out.’ So whether annihilating opponents or blowing things up, this invokes excitement from the otherwise occupied siblings. So it’s no wonder the little one shouts out ‘Sire!’ This cracks me up.
Forced between choosing a a pink or a blue low level table once in The Early Learning Centre, I muttered to myself, why don’t they have a yellow, or green, a non-gender-specific colour and thought how ridiculous that I knew my daughter would want the pink one of course, because blue is a boys colour. I bought a T shirt in a charity shop, for my daughter. I liked it because it was green and because it had a cool robot on it. When I got home I noticed the writing on it said, ‘only for boys’ , we both agreed this was stupid and she would wear it anyway, she liked robots too. Furthermore it served as a good example of ignoring the nonsense and playing, doing, wearing what you like. She’s getting it.
Need to sort out advertising and packaging design next.
Let children be children, and toys be toys. Let them decide what they want to play with…. which tends to be a computer or console from 5+ these days. Gaming world dead guilty of gender stereotyping too. I could go on, perhaps I will. Pleased in recent years to read others writing and campaigning on this now. Such as the Pink Stinks campaign, (what was that book?) Keep up the good work (will add contacts, groups, campaigns etc)
TBC… tired now and haven’t tidied the toys away yet!
