Creativity in Warwickshire
Warwickshire’s creative DNA runs deep. Public art and street art surprise and delight visitors to our towns, villages and country parks. Our rich cultural offer underpins festivals, galleries, games, film and live performance across a region. Warwickshire is home to The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Compton Verney, and numerous museums and galleries.
Public art here isn’t just decoration: it’s placemaking that amplifies local voices and storytelling and above all innovation – and you can see it and experience it, alongside design, film/TV and immersive media businesses that contribute £1bn+ GVA to the local economy.
This trail showcases how art, people and place are woven together here - from centuries‑old statues and historic turnpike markers to community co‑created poems, soundscapes, and a year‑round mural festival. This is a self‑guided experience, available 365 days a year and you can even enjoy some of the projects from afar.
Where to find public art in Warwickshire: Colour, creativity, sound and story
Colour
Nuneaton Murals - A town reimagined
Discover a growing collection of largescale murals transforming Nuneaton into a lively openair gallery celebrating heritage, George Eliot and youth culture. The more you pause and look at the murals, the more you see, take a look at Street Art Cities
Leamington Mural Festival - A year-round street art celebration round street art
Royal Leamington Spa’s yearlong curated community street art trail now features 50+ murals with a handy map: Leamington Mural Festival – Mercia Murals.
Warwickshire’s Blank Canvas Project - Inspiring pride in place through art
Supported by UKSPF funding, the Blank Canvas project saw local artists work with local communities to create a mural to reflect their places and the pride they felt in them. Designed to brighten up areas, inspire discussion, and tell stories about their towns, the murals all feature a bear to symbolise the county and show how each town has a distinct identity while still being part of a whole.
Check out the website to find locations and find out more about the artists and community groups who helped to create the pieces. Blank Canvas Project - Warwickshire County Council
Heart of England Community Rail Partnership Colour Palettes – Travel by colour
Explore colour palettes inspired by what locals think about where they live, found near our train stations, take a moment to pause and enjoy the palette of a town on a local walk - a joyful, sustainable way to see the county. Take a look at the colour palettes for Midlands.
Nuneaton Station public art - Artist commissions
If you’re arriving by rail, Nuneaton Station hosts prominent commissions delivered through Escape Arts and partners including
- Take A Moment - Maxine Tuffin (Platform 6/7)
- Freight & Lines - Alisha Miller (Platform 6/7 stairwell)
- Our Rail Staff - Alisha Miller (Bridge over Platforms 2–5)
Shape: Sculptures of Warwickshire’s icons
Randolph Turpin – Warwick
A striking bronze statue commemorates Randolph Turpin, the world middleweight boxing champion, celebrating both his athletic achievement and his enduring significance to Warwick’s cultural and sporting history.
Rupert Brooke – Rugby
In Rugby, a refined sculptural tribute honours Rupert Brooke, the First World War poet whose work and early life are closely tied to the town, standing as a graceful reminder of his literary legacy.
George Eliot – Nuneaton
At the heart of Nuneaton stands the George Eliot Statue, a bronze monument by local sculptor John Letts, honouring Mary Ann Evans - better known as George Eliot - who was born just outside the town and remains its most celebrated literary figure. Located in George Eliot Square within the pedestrianised town centre, the statue is a longstanding landmark reflecting Nuneaton’s deep literary heritage.
Sir Frank Whittle – Rugby
Rugby also pays tribute to Sir Frank Whittle, the pioneer of the jet engine, with a contemporary memorial sculpture by Stephen Broadbent, located at Chestnut Fields. Unveiled in 2005, the 4.8 metre bronze work symbolises Whittle’s visionary engineering mind and commemorates the groundbreaking development and early testing of the jet engine carried out in Rugby
Southam Stories – Sculptures celebrating a market town
Contemporary pieces interpret Southam’s trades, folklore and civic history - an engaging, family friendly trail friendly trail. Will Glanfield conceived Southam Stories as a community-shaped sculpture that expresses Southam’s identity, memories and sense of place. Rather than focusing solely on major historical events, he wanted to capture the everyday life of the town - the personal, humorous, poignant and inter‑generational stories that form Southam’s collective memory in a family friendly trail.
Shipston on Stour Heritage Plaques and Turnpike Markers - A walk through time
Explore plaques marking buildings, people and industry - and add the historic Turnpike Markers from the Stratford-upon-Avon to Long Compton route.
Polesworth Poetry Trail - Words in the landscape
A celebrated trail of poems in the landscape, with works by Michael Drayton, John Donne, Jane Holland, Malcolm Dewhirst, Gill Learner and local poets.
Poems for Polesworth, commissioned in 2023 produced two community created poems shaped from the words of 300+ local people via creative workshops at Polesworth Library and Birchwood Primary School (curated by Edie Jo Murray, facilitated by Ruby Road, developed with Emily Hunt, Young Poet Laureate).
Queen Victoria Statue - Royal Leamington Spa (The Parade, outside Town Hall)
By Albert Toft, carved in Sicilian marble on a red Aberdeen granite pedestal (unveiled Oct 1902), inscribed “Victoria Queen Empress 1837–1901 / She wrought her people lasting good.” Grade Listed. The sculpture had a narrow miss, when on 14 Nov 1940 bomb blast shifted the statue on its plinth.
Dunchurch Statue - Lord John Douglas Montagu Douglas Scott (The Square)
Grade II listed limestone statue by Joseph Durham A.R.A. (unveiled 1867), erected by his tenantry “in affectionate remembrance. ” Since the 1970s, the village has a much-loved tradition of dressing the statue at Christmas (from Star Wars to Pikachu and Pinocchio)
Coleshill Public Art – Memories Flow By (Elephant Sculpture), High Street
An 11ft bronze and steel sculpture by Peter Walker (unveiled 22 Sept 2018) blending Coleshill’s themes of stage coaching, a circus elephant (1910), tea heritage, and the three rivers - with the Baby Elephant in a Teacup” concept shaping the final design.
Sound: Art you can Hear
Rugby Butterstones Audio Soundscape – Art you can hear
Historic market “Butterstones” are reimagined through an immersive audio installation - voices, movement and ambient sound conjure Rugby’s trading past. (Part of the Our Spaces family of commissions.)
Rugby: Sounds of the Town - Warwickshire County Council
Filming in Warwickshire
Warwickshire has also become a favourite backdrop for filmmakers seeking authentic English heritage, sweeping parkland and beautifully preserved architecture, all within easy reach of the Midlands and London. The county’s cinematic charm is anchored by standout locations. At the Lord Leycester Hospital in Warwick, medieval courtyards and timber‑framed buildings create ready‑made period streets that have doubled for historic London. Nearby, the golden Tudor façade and riverside parkland of Charlecote Park offer directors a quintessentially English setting, rich with atmosphere and Capability Brown landscapes. And at Compton Verney, a striking neoclassical mansion framed by mirror‑still lakes provides a grand, elegant canvas for both film and high‑end television. Together, these locations showcase why Warwickshire is increasingly chosen by productions—and why visitors can step straight into scenes that feel lifted from the screen.
Why Warwickshire?
We hope you enjoy this place based, people centred experience. From Polesworth’s cocreated poems and Coleshill’s school inspired sculpture to Dunchurch’s playful tradition, Warwickshire’s art genuinely recognises people and place. Warwickshire has been the star of film and screen with recent productions including Joan, Father Brown and The Crown. Warwickshire’s creative DNA runs deep. Today it’s home to Silicon Spa - one of the UK’s most significant videogames clusters centred on Leamington, Warwick and Southam. Creativity continues in Warwickshire.