Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Mural unveiled in Dundee as mission to ‘make Keiller Centre great again’ reaches next stage

Florence Higgins — artist Catriona Higgins' daughter — enjoys the new mural playground.
Florence Higgins — artist Catriona Higgins' daughter — enjoys the new mural playground.

A new colourful mural has been completed in Dundee city centre as one woman’s mission to make the Keiller Centre great again gains momentum.

Kathryn Rattray has been championing the long-struggling shopping centre for the past few months.

With the help of Dundee City Council, she brought on board fellow artist Catriona Higgins who painted the mural in a courtyard near the Arctic Bar entrance to the building.

The feature also acts as a playground with lots of colour, hearts, ladders, and positive mind-set phrases.

‘People are amazed at the transformation’

The idea is the artwork will attract more footfall to the largely empty centre with Kathryn determined to turn round its fortunes.

She said: “I love the mural, it’s bright, playful with an important message of keeping a strong and positive mindset.

Kathryn Rattray (left) and Catriona Higgins at the mural outside the centre.

“Particularly right now, there’s so much doom and gloom we all need a gentle reminder to keep looking for the beauty in our world.

“I’m a big fan of Catriona’s work, style and aesthetic. She also has a brilliant work ethic, focussed, positive and strong, she’s a ray of light.

“There has been huge positive feedback about the mural. People are amazed at the transformation at New Inn Entry, the colours, shapes and wild flowers bring what was once a drab part of town a new lease of life.

The artwork contains positive mindset phrases.

“It has been great seeing kids play on the mural, jumping between shapes, recognising numbers, pointing in amazement.

“I think we all need to find a connection with our inner child, that free spirit that’s in all of us.”

Hope for more footfall in Keiller Centre

The Keiller Centre sits on the site of the first Keiller Factory which produced confectionary in the late 1800s before it burned down.

A replacement factory continued operations near Clepington Road and produced marmalade that was renowned the world over.

The centre was named after the factories and was Dundee’s go-to shopping destination for a period in the 1980s and early 1990s.

But now only a few businesses remain and many only use it as a shortcut to and from the High Street.

Kathryn Rattray is on a mission to make the Keiller Centre great again.

Kathryn operates The Federation art gallery inside the Keiller and has led on work to use art as the centre’s new focal point.

As well as her own gallery and the space outside, a new art gallery could soon open opposite hers operated by NeOn Digital Arts Festival.

She said: “There’s definitely a feeling of civic pride here now. When I first moved into the centre, the outside was so bad as it was post-Covid.

The mural is also a playground.

“But we’ve had all the walls painted and it looks so much better. It’s interesting because all the litter dropping has stopped.

“Touch wood, nobody has been tagging any of the posters on display or the walls

“It just feels like this little hidden gem that’s developing.

“I’m still determined to make the Keiller Centre great again.”

Kathryn says she is “very grateful” for the partnership formed with Dundee City’s Council’s centre manager Gaynor Sullivan who she says has given the project so much support.

Conversation