How the Lady Ann Livingston Boyd came to be

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life”- Pablo Picasso

Soon after the demolition of the 121-135 King Street (the former Mothercare building), in 2021, a new space emerged and was overshadowed by a huge, dull grey gable end. It wasn’t long after this that a local community group, who had a reputation for extensive community engagement, approached Council officers, asking that a mural be painted on that gable.

Working with community partners, stakeholders from the business community, property owners, elected members, council officers in planning, legal, finance, and regeneration, as well as expert officers in what was then East Ayrshire Leisure (now Ayrshire360), there was a successful competitive commissioning process.

The local artist, Tom Lightbody, was chosen to showcase his artistic skill. This turned a blank grey wall, into a work of art; depicting a real woman from local history, in the centre of Kilmarnock.

From there, the Countess’s story was reimagined, via funding from Scotland’s Year of Stories, by local school children who worked with an academic to write and perform a play about her life.

Subsequently, Kilmarnock was front page news, receiving huge attention from local and national press, and the popular Instagram account, Visit Scotland, which shares beautiful places around the country.

Since these contemporary Kilmarnock murals were painted, murals have appeared in other towns of East Ayrshire: in Darvel, Muirkirk, Newmilns, Auchinleck, and soon to be in Mauchline and Cumnock too.