Future's Past & Present
The town of Doncaster has been forever changed as history has been made with the delivery of Nomad Clan’s massive and incredible mural, ‘Future’s Past and Present’, located on Trafford Way just opposite Doncaster Train Station. Creating a mural of this scale by bringing together relics of the past fused with nods to the heritage and future of Doncaster has been a truly remarkable feat.
DCLT & Doncaster Council
Internationally acclaimed street artist duo Nomad Clan have proven once again that they can deliver a project of enormous scale and scope, while keeping the community’s voice heard and inspiring future generations to come. Together with urban art production team Art of Protest Projects, DCLT, Doncaster Creates, and Doncaster Council, and with partnership from Arts Council England and the Frenchgate Centre, Doncaster has received a world class piece of art and something it can put its name to and be proud of forever.
Street art has once again proven its worth by changing the face of a northern English town as celebrated street art duo Nomad Clan’s largest ever mural lands at the gateway to Doncaster. During a time when a local community is crying out for a sense of identity, urban art paves the way to a greater understanding of what local heritage is, and what the future wants to be.
After a global pandemic has left cities and towns across the world struggling to pick up the pieces and carry forward, street art has become a vehicle to create a greater understanding of what it means to have a collective voice shared and heard. This mural, aptly titled Future’s Past and Present, has been two years in the making and has come at a time when more than ever people need to feel included in their surroundings and take pride in ownership of something meaningful. The largest mural to date by Nomad Clan features various totems which give nod to the history and culture of Doncaster.
From a coal miner with his pit pony to a female black NHS doctor, every part of this mural is intentional and tells a story. Giving homage to aviation and locomotive transport, as well as Roman ruins and an iconic castle, this mural weaves together a narrative that could only be achieved by the talents of Hayley Garner and Jay Gilleard of Nomad Clan.
Doncaster has now been put on the map as an urban art hotspot and the delivery of this mural proves that the least expected areas can produce valuable and meaningful tokens for communities to hold onto as an anchor and a gripping point to bring people together, spark conversation and ignite a new wave of creativity into an area that desperately needs an identity. The surface has just been scratched for the area, with more infusions of murals and art to hit the streets soon.
