Holly Astle, the artist behind a beloved public mural in Falmouth, has spoken out after learning that a local body has painted over her work in retaliation to her participation in a protest at Falmouth University two years ago.

The mural, once celebrated by the community, has now been removed without consultation or prior warning. This came after Astle challenged the council-adjacent body for failing to consult her before a “touch-up” project with a local school, despite her retaining legal copyright of the mural. 

The wall is owned by Cornwall Council, but the mural was commissioned by Falmouth Business Improvement District (BID), a separate body which delivers marketing for businesses and ‘public realm improvements’ for the town. The current Chair of Falmouth BID is Rob Holmes, who was (and remains) Finance Director of Falmouth University at the time of Holly’s protest.

This removal of the mural has left many questioning the power of public bodies in deciding who gets to be seen and heard, when art is used for community building and then destroyed when it no longer fits a curated narrative.

Holly’s “Love Falmouth” mural, completed in 2022.

When Cobblestone Media spoke to Holly, she stated:

“I was shocked to learn that a school would be painting on my mural, without anyone having contacted me. I heard about this plan by chance, and that Falmouth BID had told the school they were ‘no longer in touch with the artist’. So I reached out to them.

“As the artist, I hold the copyright to the work. At the very least I would like to have been consulted on this project, so that I could have colour matched paints, and made sure that painting carried out was up to the standard of my work. I would have loved to engage the kids on this project to help them get the most out of it through interacting with the artist, I also made clear to Falmouth BID that I didn’t wish to be paid for this endeavour.” 

Instead, in a string of emails, Falmouth BID stated that due to having to remain politically neutral, they could not be associated with Holly as an artist following her protest at Falmouth University two years prior. In email correspondence with the artist, Falmouth BID stated that:

“Unfortunately, as we have to remain apolitical and because your protest including criminal damage, we are unable to work directly.”

Rather than engaging in dialogue or respecting the rights of the artist, the body has chosen to remove the mural entirely.

On this subject, Holly stated,

“Painting over a mural by a politically engaged artist is in itself a political act. You can’t present neutrality when you censor work, and you can’t separate art from the artist in the two years of choosing to continue to celebrate my work after the protest took place”

Holly’s mural painted over, October 2025

The protest in question was peaceful, the conviction has been spent, and Holly has remained an engaged and vocal member of the local community since. Yet, her involvement in activism has been used against her, something she says reflects a dangerous pattern in how institutions treat artists who speak out against the status quo:

“Public art is meant to belong to the people. It should create a space for voices that challenge as well as inspire. But when institutions only support artists who stay silent and ‘safe,’ they’re participating in censorship.” 

Cobblestone Media reached out to Keren Cooksey, the new manager of Falmouth BID. In their comment she said:

“Unfortunately, the mural was covered in graffiti and as part of our commitment to enhancing the visual impact of Falmouth, we will be looking to use this space and others in town for wayfinding murals as requested by local traders.”

This statement acts in contradiction to both the emails received by Holly regarding the mural’s proposed touch-ups, and the copyright held by the artist over the work.

Images Via: Cobblestone Media.