Van Gogh's sunflowers take over Westgate Oxford

If you have walked past Westgate Oxford lately, you will have noticed its entrance on the corner of Castle Street and Church Lane has been taken over by a massive recreation of Vincent van Gogh's 'Sunflowers'. The installation is part of 'Murals reMastered', a collaboration between the National Gallery in London and Global Street Art, and it is the first piece from the project to be installed anywhere outside of London.

The original painting, which van Gogh created in Arles in 1888, measures 92.1 cm by 73 cm and is held by the National Gallery. This recreation was put up by artists from Global Street Art over five days, and it was unveiled on Thursday 1 October. The project as a whole is recreating works spanning more than 700 years from the National Gallery's collection, with Sir Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery, and Dr Lee Bofkin, co-founder and CEO of Global Street Art, at the helm. Global Street Art was founded in 2012 and has produced over 3,000 public art murals since then.

The installation is a botanical homage to the University of Oxford's Botanic Garden and Arboretum, which was established in 1621. Landrec, a partner of Westgate Oxford, commissions murals for commercial destinations, and this one is the latest addition to the centre's walls. The unveiling was marked by a weekend of free, family-friendly activities on 3 and 4 October, with themed crafting sessions, photo opportunities against sunflower-decked backdrops, and a 'Sunflower Wishes Wall' where visitors could write pledges on seed packets to be planted as part of a community initiative. Freddie's Flowers handed out bouquets, the Sunflower Society gave away seed packets, and Victors Roof Terrace served a bespoke Sunflower cocktail, with a non-alcoholic version available.

For anyone who missed the opening weekend, the mural remains in place, so it is still worth a look if you are heading into town. Westgate Oxford, owned by Landsec, sits in the heart of the city on Queen Street and holds more than 70 shops, open seven days a week. If you are planning a trip around it, there is a new LEGO Store on the lower floor of the South Arcade, which opened on Thursday 7 May and is the LEGO Group's 22nd UK store. It has a Pick a Brick Wall and a Build a Minifigure Tower, along with exclusive sets like the LEGO Icons Star Trek: U.S.S Enterprise NCC-1701-D and the LEGO Icons Stranger Things: The Creel House. Between the mural and the store, there is plenty to see around the centre this autumn, and none of it costs anything to walk past. The sunflower installation is free to see, so it makes for an easy, no-cost stop on a day in the city centre.