A raft of Bermudian artists showed off a series of murals near Bailey’s Bay this weekend, highlighting the beauty and culture of the area.

The Bailey’s Bay Community Art Mural project, launched under the Bermuda Walls banner, challenged a host of artists to beautify an empty wall along the Railway Trail.

While several artists remained hard at work on their murals yesterday afternoon during a public painting day event, they expressed hope that the end result would shine a spotlight on the area of Hamilton Parish.

Alice Coutet, whose work depicts the pedestrian bridge over Bailey’s Bay, said that she was inspired by walking on the trail with her family.

She said: “This opportunity has been phenomenal. Every day we come and we are painting alongside other artists. Usually, we paint individually. We know the other artists but we don’t really interact unless it's at an opening or an event.

“This is different. Here you are actually working alongside other artists, you are talking, you are discussing, you are trading tips and tricks. Sometimes somebody needs a ruler or someone needs a pencil or paint and we are enjoying that experience.

“Then we have people walking by and they want to join in, they want to talk, so it really is truly a community project in all senses of the word.”

DaeLyn Saint-Surin aimed to create an image of children jumping off the rocks as part of her first mural.

She said: “I was really surprised that I pushed myself to do this. I am an at-home painter, I work on a smaller scale, so to have people walk across and say how much they like it or how they interpret my art is such an emotional journey.

“I feel so privileged that this is going to be part of Bermuda for a long time.”

Ms Saint-Surin said her mural was titled Ice Cream and Sherbet, adding that she had aimed to embrace a feeling of childhood nostalgia and community with the work.

She said: “I wanted to play with the colours and make it all fun and funky to have that memorial, family-oriented feel.”

James Cooke took a personal approach to the project by crafting a mural focused on glass-blowing and his own childhood in Bailey’s Bay.

He said: “I was going to do something fisherman-y, but someone mentioned the old glass-blowing studio.

“My mother actually opened the glass-blowing studio in the Eighties. She brought it here, and I grew up in the glass-blowing studio in Bailey’s Bay, so naturally I thought I should pay tribute to my mother.

“I did a modern interpretation with a stimulating image to get iPad kids to look at the picture. It is basically an idealised, younger version of my mother creating a glass fish, which blends in with a lot of the aquatic work being done elsewhere here.”

Jahbarri Wilson and Kyle Simmons also decided to look back on their childhoods for their mural, recalling catching lizards as children.

Mr Simmons added: “It inspires nostalgia and youth. I remember catching lizards was a pretty common pastime back in the day.

“It is an honour being featured next to all of these other artists, and seeing everything together gives a greater sense of community and involvement.”

Mr Wilson said that he was happy to be involved with the project as it allowed him to collaborate with other artists and beautify different areas of the island.

He added: “This is another way for us to keep stories alive. It keeps our stories in the public so the public doesn’t have to go to a gallery.

“For the people who don’t go to the galleries, they can go outside and see our stories still being told.”

Kathy Carter, a member of the Harlem Heights community celebrated among the murals, praised the project as placing a spotlight on the neighbourhood.

She said: “It’s wonderful. It feels really good to be represented among all of these beautiful pieces of art.

“We have a committee and we do block parties and different functions. We want to keep that sense of community in our neighbourhood because it is getting lost.”

Tinée Furbert, the Minister of Youth, Social Development and Seniors, said she was grateful Bermuda Walls had brought the project to fruition and given local artists an opportunity to showcase their talents.

“People are walking along the trails and enjoying the artwork and asking the artists about their murals,” she said.

“It’s really exciting. It has definitely brought together different ideas and the history of Bailey’s Bay, which is something we really wanted to incorporate, and our local artists came together to make this a reality.”

Ms Furbert added that she hoped the murals would create another destination for visitors in the area, stating that since work on them began, tour companies have driven through the area to show the art to tourists.