A local Surrey artist has created a new piece of artwork to add colour and vibrancy to Guildford Station.

Julie Hoyle was commissioned to produce an original piece for the station subway that would offer a ‘sense of place, identity, and welcome’ for passengers.

She collaborated with local historians, institutions, and residents to research the history of Guildford and its surrounding area, immersing herself in the stories and landmarks of the town and the nearby Surrey Hills.

The finished piece, titled ‘Host’, references places, people, and events, past and present, all celebrating the unique heritage, successful industry, and diverse culture of Guildford.

Julie said: “I intend the work to be uplifting, perhaps creating, as public art consultant Marc Pally put it ‘a rupture in pedestrian life’. A belief that as you view public art, ‘your progress through the space is slowed down.’ I hope this work will cause a mental diversion from the usual commute through the subway and make the viewer consider all that Guildford offers them.”

Guildford Station is on the North Downs Line, one of nine lines covered by Southeast Communities Rail Partnership, one of the partners in the Host project. Other partners and funders included Network Rail, CrossCountry, Great Western Railway, South Western Railway, Community Rail Network, The Arts Society, The Arts Society Guildford, and Guildford Arts.

You can find out more about the work of Southeast Communities Rail Partnership here.