Artist helps bring Peterborough's Queensgate Shopping Centre to life with new look

As a £60 million leisure extension takes shape at the Queensgate Shopping Centre in Peterborough, bland walls have been given a vibrant new look.

The nationally esteemed designer and painter Josephine Hicks – known as Hixxy - was commissioned to create a contemporary visual display on several floors of the 40-year-old centre.

Hixxy, who counts high profile names such as Sipsmith, Bombay Sapphire, Asos and TeamGB, among her clients, is known for her large scale ‘pop botanical’ murals that she says celebrate connections between nature and biodiversity in urban environments.

The new art work, which took six days to complete by her team, can be seen on the walls around the new Puttstars mini-golf entertainment centre which stretches across two storeys and which will soon lead into a new 10 screen Empire cinema and new restaurants and shops.

Prominent in her final design are oversized Monstera leaves, block geometric coloured shapes and human figures that bring the white walls to life.

Hixxy said: “The biggest challenge of this piece was to make sure the artwork can be impactful from all angles and levels.

"I wanted to project Peterborough’s community values in the final piece, which I feel I’ve captured with the use of multiple human forms.

She added: “I think people will be surprised and inspired by the art, it's something unique and I’m looking to create emotions throughout the visitors to Queensgate.”

Mark Broadhead, Centre Director at Queensgate, said: “This is a wonderful and vibrant display of art and imagination that we hope customers to Queensgate will enjoy.

"The opening of Puttstars is the start of much more to come that will see further entertainment, leisure and restaurants come to the City centre and help create a completely new destination for people to visit.”

It is expected that the long awaited IMAX cinema will be completed by Easter next year and which will be part of a 70,000 square feet extension, that is expected to create 200 jobs, and which was first unveiled in 2015.