A former Just Stop Oil activist convicted of causing £5,000 of criminal damage to a Cornish university has complained after a mural she created was painted over.
Holly Astle, an illustrator from Falmouth, Cornwall, accused the local council of whitewashing her art on a wall at the Lawn Steps in her hometown for ‘political’ reasons.
The local BID (business improvement district) responsible has hit back and rubbished the claims, saying the mural was instead removed to tackle graffiti.
Ms Astle first painted the artwork, which featured colourful ships against a blue background, in 2022 with the help of the Falmouth BID.
But it was recently painted over completely in white, prompting the artist to claim she had been told the decision had been taken due to the BID’s stance on ‘political neutrality’.
The team has now apologised for any ‘incorrect communications’ and said the decision was actually taken to counter vandalism and graffiti.
Ms Astle, a former Just Stop Oil activist, was convicted of causing £5,000 of criminal damage to Falmouth University in a protest on October 11, 2023.
She and fellow activist Ethan Paul sprayed a university building with bright orange paint in a series of coordinated protests at campuses around the country.
Holly Astle (centre, with the mural), an illustrator from Falmouth, Cornwall, accused the local council of whitewashing her art on a wall at the Lawn Steps in her hometown for ‘political’ reasons
Ms Astle is pictured in front of the newly-painted wall in Falmouth where her mural used to be
They were accused of causing damage worth in excess of £11,000 to one building and £5,000 to another – but at trial, the prosecution failed to produce evidence to support the larger claim.
Ms Astle was convicted of one count of criminal damage and cleared of a second, while Mr Paul was cleared of both charges. At the time, she told the court the protest had been an ‘act of love’.
The artist was given a 12-month community order with 60 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £4,000 compensation to the university.
A year later the artist accused Falmouth Town Council and Falmouth BID, which originally commissioned her mural, of destroying it because of her previous involvement in Just Stop Oil protests.
It came after the work was subject to vandalism and graffiti.
It’s understood the BID team had planned to allow children from local schools to paint over the instances of graffiti, but Ms Astle insisted to them that she would need to be consulted first.
‘I emailed the BID team to say that I need to be consulted first, as I retain copyright over the artwork, and said would happily be involved in engaging the kids on this project without any payment,’ she said.
‘It was important to me that I could oversee it, so that I could colour-match the paints, and make sure any work was completed to a standard I was happy to be associated with.
Falmouth University Graduate Holly Astle was convicted of causing £5,000 of criminal damage at the campus in 2023 in a protest in support of Just Stop Oil
The artist was given a 12-month community order with 60 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £4,000 compensation to the university
‘Instead, the Falmouth BID team explicitly stated they wouldn’t be associated with me due to their stance on “political neutrality”, and would be seeking alternative solutions.’
She accused the council of attempting to use her artwork ‘without credit’ for ‘a celebratory press release’.
She added: ‘Painting over my mural is in itself a political act. You can’t present neutrality when you censor the work of artists that are politically engaged.’
But a spokesperson for Falmouth BID and Falmouth Town Team says the decision to paint over the mural entirely was taken due to it being subject to repeated vandalism.
They added that they had engaged with Ms Astle but were unable to find a ‘workable solution’.
They said: ‘This graffiti, and these acts of vandalism and antisocial behaviour, have been a cause for complaint by the local community.
‘Earlier this year, a Falmouth school approached Falmouth BID with the idea of involving their pupils in work around the mural projects. Initial discussions were had, including potential overpainting and restoration of the Lawn Steps vandalism.
‘The town team was then contacted by Holly Astle, expressing her need to be involved in any amendments to the Lawn Steps mural.
‘In this case, a workable solution involving Ms Astle could unfortunately not be found, despite discussions with the artist.
‘In addition, ongoing consultation with the Falmouth BID member businesses has highlighted a collective wish for future artworks to be created with a stronger ‘wayfinding’ practical purpose stated within the brief.
‘Taking these factors into consideration, a joint decision was made by Falmouth Town Team and Falmouth BID not to progress the restoration of the Lawn Steps mural at this time, and it has now been painted over to eradicate the unfortunate, antisocial graffiti.
‘Falmouth BID and Falmouth Town Team collectively wish to apologise to Holly Astle for any incorrect communications which may have given the false impression that her previous protest action was a reason for the painting over of her mural created for, and commissioned for, Falmouth BID.’
