In 2025, Severn Arts commissioned visual artist Sarah Brown to collaborate with people who live and study in Worcester to codesign a new mural for the Foregate Street bridge in the city centre. The project was delivered in partnership with Worcester City Council and funded by Great Western Railway as part of the national Railway 200 celebrations.

Two groups of participants helped shape the final design. One group came from Platform Housing, a social housing organisation working locally, and the other was made up of Arts and Design students from Heart of Worcestershire College. Through a series of workshops, participants shared their memories of train journeys, explored the history and future of rail travel, and reflected on what makes Worcester such a special place to visit. Their ideas, stories and perspectives all played an important role in informing the finished mural. Railway 200 marked 2025 as the 200th anniversary of the modern railway. It was a year-long nationwide partnership-led campaign that celebrated how rail travel has connected places, people, communities and ideas, and ultimately transformed the world.

Sarah Brown is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Gloucestershire. Her primary practice combines illustration and model-making to produce glass sculptures.

This resource was made as part of the Railway 200 Artist Commission project. In 2025, we commissioned visual artist Sarah Brown to collaborate with people living or studying in Worcester to co-design a new mural for the Foregate Street bridge in the city centre. In order to help audiences explore and enjoy the new mural, we created this ebook which includes a series of activities and talking points which you can look out for in the artwork. 

The project was delivered by Severn Arts, in partnership with Worcester City Council with funding from Great Western Railway as part of the national Railway 200 celebrations.

Download the Railway 200: Gateway to the Arches activity ebook