FIVE KEY FACTS
Artist: Shauna Anseo
Where: Manor Road
What: Stained Glass
Style: A little Art Nouveau
Produced by: Slapdash Studio
Keep reading to find out more…..
The Inspiration
Produced by Slapdash Studio and painted by Shauna, this mural draws inspiration from the history of Newquay’s Women’s Institute. The design is informed by archival photographs of the WI’s founder, Lady Molesworth-St Aubyn, sourced from the National Portrait Gallery, alongside a reimagined version of the Newquay WI banner.
The stained-glass background, rendered in an Art Nouveau style, references the role of church halls in the organisation’s early years, the centrality of craft to the WI’s mission and activities, and the visual language of the period in which the group was founded.
The Artist
Shauna Anseo is an Irish muralist and street artist based in London whose large-scale figurative works explore light, storytelling, and belonging. Her murals sit between portraiture and mythmaking.
Her practice is rooted in collaboration, often developed through dialogue with local schools, councils, and communities to uncover shared narratives and translate them into meaningful public works. She uses the illusion of light as both visual motif and metaphor, a small act of transformation that turns the ordinary into something magical.
The Process
Shauna designed the mural as a collage of found images, using a VR headset to map and draw the outlines directly onto the wall. Together, Shauna and Slapdash Studio brought the piece to life from the scaffold, painting with spray paint through a wet and windy week in December, surviving two storms in the process!
The Finished Mural
The finished mural depicts Lady Molesworth-St Aubyn, founder of the Newquay Women’s Institute, shown in profile and colourised from the original black-and-white photograph. She wears a delicate lace top and a flower brooch in the WI’s colours.
At the centre, a banner reads “Newquay WI, Inspiring Women since 1918.” These elements are framed within a triple-arched Art Nouveau window, with stained-glass details that root the piece in Newquay, including pilchards and the Huer’s Hut.
“There was some challenging weather on this one, to be expected in December, but we showed great resilience in producing a fantastic mural that proudly displays the history of the WI on the side of their building, to enjoy and to inspire!”
The Producer: Jack Tierney from Slapdash Studio
This project is part-funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Cornwall Council is responsible for managing projects funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund through the Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Good Growth Programme.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus
