Key Points
- Seven large inflatable artworks have turned the town center of Croydon into an open air gallery during the August Bank Holiday Weekend.
- This is a public arts project dubbed the “Unexpected Croydon” Art Trail that runs from August 27th to August 31st.
- This free walking art trail includes whimsical installations such as large tentacles rising from Fairfield Halls, sunflowers, fish and a large paintbrush.
- There are sculptures on rooftops of familiar local buildings and emerging straight from buildings.
- The artworks have been designed by Filthy Luker (Luke Egan) and Pedro Estrellas (Pete Hamilton), who are renowned artists and who run their own inflatable design studio known as Designs in Air.
- The artworks will be illuminated during the night so people can view them at night time.
- This project has been commissioned by Croydon BID together with Designs in Air.
- There are seven installations, which are spread in Centrale Shopping Centre, North End, Croydon Town Hall, Fairfield Halls, LSBU Croydon Campus – Electric House, Ruskin Square Car Park and The Green Dragon.
London (Extra London News) August 29, 2026 – Croydon town centre has been transformed into a bustling, open-air gallery this Bank Holiday weekend as seven massive, surreal inflatable artworks take over local rooftops, historic facades, and public squares. Running from August 27 through to August 31, the free public walking trail—dubbed “Unexpected Croydon“—features eye-catching spectacles including giant tentacles, supersized sunflowers, a shoal of colourful fish, and a giant paintbrush. Commissioned by the Croydon Business Improvement District (BID) and brought to life by the globally exhibited inflatable art studio Designs in Air, the initiative aims to inject vibrant energy into high streets and offer families and visitors a joyful, imaginative escape across multiple locations in the town centre.
What is the Unexpected Croydon art trail and where can visitors find the installations?
Designed as an accessible, family-friendly walking route, the Unexpected Croydon trail spans seven key locations across the town centre. As reported by Ezekiel Bertrand, a reporter for London Now, the public art displays are strategically positioned so visitors can easily navigate a route between different parts of Croydon.
The seven specific sites hosting the sculptures include:
- Centrale Shopping Centre and North End (both situated on North End)
- Croydon Town Hall, located on Katharine Street
- Fairfield Halls, located on Park Lane
- LSBU Croydon Campus at Electric House, positioned on Wellesley Road
- Ruskin Square Car Park, located on Dingwall Road
- The Green Dragon pub, located on High Street
According to local event briefings from venues like Centrale & Whitgift and Fairfield Halls, visitors can view a giant paintbrush inside Centrale Shopping Centre, a shoal of colourful fish outside Whitgift, and massive tentacles bursting out from and reaching across the iconic Fairfield Halls. The sculptures are completely visible from public streets and open spaces during daylight hours, while specialized architectural and atmospheric lighting systems ensure the installations provide a completely unique visual perspective during evening walks after dark.
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Why was the Unexpected Croydon public art trail commissioned?
Organisers behind the project emphasize that the festival is intended to challenge the monotony of urban landscapes and breathe fresh life into local commercial hubs. Expressing the core philosophy of the event, Matthew Sims, the chief executive of Croydon BID, stated as reported by London Now:
“Unexpected Croydon is our playful rebellion against the everyday, turning the town centre into a larger-than-life open-air gallery filled with colour and creativity.”
Mr Sims further underscored the economic and social importance of injecting creativity into public spaces, adding, as noted by London Now:
“Our high streets need an injection of energy, and these spectacular artworks give people a reason to look up, smile and experience Croydon differently. Best of all, the trail is completely free, offering families and visitors of all ages a joyful escape to experience something different.”
The initiative serves as a major draw for shoppers, art enthusiasts, and families over the final Bank Holiday weekend of the summer, encouraging local footfall and helping people rediscover familiarity in public architecture through a lens of surrealism and whimsy.
Who are the creative minds behind the giant inflatables?
The monumental sculptures were conceptualised and constructed by the renowned British artist duo Filthy Luker and Pedro Estrellas, who operate the specialized inflatable design studio Designs in Air. The studio has earned international acclaim for producing humorous, disruptive, and large-scale public art interventions that have appeared at major festivals, cultural exhibitions, and cityscapes worldwide.
Elaborating on the artistic motives driving their creations, Designs in Air co-founders Pete Hamilton (Pedro Estrellas) and Luke Egan (Filthy Luker) shared their manifesto regarding the Croydon takeover. As reported by London Now, the co-founders stated:
“Our main motive is to make the world a more surreal and colourful place as a kind of vendetta against the mundane, concrete world we live in.”
Explaining the psychological and visual impact of deploying massive inflatable objects into standard municipal environments, the duo added, as documented by London Now:
“With the ability to blow up giant objects almost anywhere, the installations work as beautiful shock tactics, grabbing the public’s attention. We love to spice up the daily grind and disrupt city skylines with some artful light-hearted anarchy.”
Through this collaboration with Croydon BID, Designs in Air has successfully merged high-impact conceptual street art with accessible community engagement, ensuring that thousands of visitors can interact directly with contemporary art outside the traditional confines of museums and galleries.
As the Bank Holiday weekend progresses through to Monday, August 31, residents and visitors continue to flock to the town centre to explore the trail, take photographs of the landmarks, and experience Croydon’s high streets transformed by light, scale, and imagination.
