Making Newton beautiful, one back alley at a time

The alley tucked behind a business nearKing George Boulevardin Surrey, B.C.'s Newton neighbourhood is the kind of place most people try to avoid.

The walls are prison beige andused furniture and other junk piles up on the dingy concrete.

But the Newton Business Improvement Association is calling on artists to change that scenefrom to grotesque to gorgeous.

"We wanted to take an area that has a historical safety issues of loitering and drug use and brighten it up," said Philip Aguirre, director of the Newton BIA.

"We wanted to provide a space that people can be comfortable in."

Paint the walls

Aguirre's vision for an art walk in Newton started last year when graffiti artist Danny Fernandez was hired to create a 21-metre mural.

Now Fernandez is returning to work on two more projects nearby with a team of other artists.

"Bringing people to a space is a good thing," Aguirre said.

"More eyes on the street and more activity bring vibrancy to your community."

The work

"This definitely can attract more people to an area that historically has had negativity attached to it," Aguirre said.

"If there are a lot of negative stories out there about Newton, we have to put out positive stories because there are a lot of positive stories."

Work on the projects will start this spring.