Hope Not Hate

The 'Hope Not Hate' mural on the Ambassador House Forecourt was designed by artist Van Dang @FreeartUK was selected to design the mural as part of Croydon Council's regeneration of the forecourt and who worked with teenagers from Young Croydon.  On her website https://freeart.org.uk/hope-not-hate/ Van Dang says "I was painting the front mural at Ambassador House when the first Covid-19 lockdown struck the UK on 23rd March 2020. I was then stuck in the house for months, then the death of George Floyd shook the world. I am not black, I am not white either. People rarely view me as a threat as I look little but it doesn’t mean I don’t experience racism or discrimination living in the UK. I felt pain when someone was knelt on the neck to death – the choking, trying to gasp the last breath and fighting for life. All life matters and for whatever reason, a death of a human being no matter what skin colour is not acceptable. Therefore, I painted HOPE NOT HATE. David – my neighbour – a member of Thornton Heath Community Action Team (THCAT) @thornton_heath_c_a_t sat on the dirty pavement with me for days and we painted the mural together. Yashika and Vania brought me ice cream, N. gave me lunch and a coat. I don’t know why he decided I needed a coat but he did and I appreciate everyone who dropped by and gave me words of encouragement.

At 11:00am 20th June 2020, my friend Andrea Perry and I organised the “Thornton Heath stands with Black Lives Matter” demonstration on Ambassador House forecourt. We had to put in a lot of safety measures with the Council and the police in order for the event to go ahead but we received amazing support from our guest speakers, artists, local politicians, Age UK, Thornton Heath Community Action Team (THCAT), our volunteers and local residents".
Mural commissioned by Croydon Council 2019