The exterior of Sport Aberdeen’s Sheddocksley Sports Centre has been given a major facelift thanks to the handiwork of two local artists as part of Sport Aberdeen’s £350,000 modernisation of the venue.

Mary Butterworth and Jon Reid, with the help of Katie Guthrie, who operate out of the Kekun Studio in Rosemount both have strong links to Sheddocksley and the surrounding area. Their involvement with Nuart and the Painted Doors Project has been integral in the cities creative overhaul over the last few years. This combination made them an ideal team to undertake the work with Sport Aberdeen.

When asked about their involvement in the project Jon Reid said:

“The Sheddocksley Sports centre mural has been a fantastic experience for us being the first large scale project from our art studio, Kekun. Having spent my youth playing football in Sheddocksley and Mastrick, its fantastic to return with the project, adding some colour to the building but also finding out more about the facility and the diverse community of Sport Aberdeen patrons who stopped to chat with us about the mural.”

Before beginning the work, Mary and Jon held walk in sessions at Sheddocksley Sports Centre to allow members of the community to meet with them and put forth suggestions for colours and shapes to be included in the mural. They were keen to get a feeling for what the centre means to those that use it most and how they could incorporate this into the design.

Mary Butterworth also added:

“We’ve had some lovely warm responses whilst painting which has been amazing. It’s great to see organisations like Sport Aberdeen investing in the communities they serve and giving artists like us this opportunity to transform a space.”

Sport Aberdeen’s Director of Community Leisure Operations, David Selkirk said:

“The artwork produced by Jon, Mary and Katie represents the uniqueness of the role the venue plays within the local community and Sport Aberdeen are delighted that the transformation inside the facility has been enhanced by vibrant design of the exterior. There is so much great work going on to strengthen the community within the Sheddockely area and we are extremely proud to be able to add to that by offering a safe and welcoming space for residents to get active.”