A mural of Jersey-inspired tiles designed to commemorate the Société Jersiaise’s 150th anniversary is set to be unveiled at an event later this month.
The artwork, designed by local illustrator Lauren Radley, will be unveiled by the Bailiff at a special, festive event at the Société’s Pier Road premises on Friday 15th December at 1pm.
This unveiling marks the culmination of the heritage organisation’s 2023 year-long anniversary celebrations.
Lauren’s mural, which consists of 150 individually illustrated tiles each bearing illustrations representing local history and referencing the Société’s work over the last century-and-a-half, was a design selected after an open call run by the Société in partnership with ArtHouse Jersey.
The tiles will also feature text in Jèrriais to signify the linguistic heritage of the Island.
Kindly sponsored by the Government of Jersey Creative Island Partnership Fund, the mural will be able to be viewed by the public from 15th December.
Attendees are invited to watch the mural being unveiled on the day before being welcomed into the Société Members’ Room for mulled wine and mince pies.
The Chief Executive of Société Jersiaise, Rebecca J. Bailhache, said: “We are looking forward to the unveiling of this commemorative artwork and being able to see Lauren’s mural every day when we go to Pier Road. All our Sections and Departments were asked to contribute to find suitable images to represent their work and to mark significant plant and animal species, people and events over the past 150 years. Lauren has manifested this in her simple yet striking designs and we hope that people will be stimulated to stop and look, perhaps seeking inspiration to find their space within this important Island institution which covers so many aspects of our heritage and culture.
“As we wind up our anniversary year celebrating ‘Past Present Future’, what better way to place in the Public’s eye a daily reminder of what makes our Island unique? We are grateful to ArtHouse Jersey for their collaboration and to the Government of Jersey’s Creative Island Partnership Fund for their generous support.”
Director of ArtHouse Jersey, Tom Dingle, said: “It was an honour to team up with the Société Jersiaise to help find an artist to create a new public artwork for their 150th anniversary celebrations. Lauren’s piece will no doubt bring a lot of joy to Jersey’s public as they pass along Pier Road and is a fitting tribute to Société’s dedication to understanding of our community’s past. The Société has for a long time been a driving force when it comes to learning more about the Island’s history, culture, language and environment and this piece is a suitable celebration of their important role in the Island.”
