Transport for London (TfL) has unveiled a striking new mural at Brixton Underground station by London-based artist Rudy Loewe, celebrating the local area and its communities. Titled The Congregation, the artwork will be on display for a year and marks the ninth commission in a series of murals at the station, following previous works by artists including Claudette Johnson, Denzil Forrester, Joy Labinjo, and Njideka Akunyili Crosby.

Spanning the station entrance, The Congregation draws inspiration from the narrative energy of comics, blending text and image in vivid colour to explore Brixton’s rich social history. The mural honours the area as a site of resistance and community gathering, particularly for London’s Black communities, and features 20 scenes derived from archival research and interviews. It highlights both historic figures and everyday life, creating a layered portrait of the neighbourhood.

Key elements of the mural include depictions of the Windrush Generation’s arrival in the late 1940s, SisterMatic—a 1980s sound system providing a safe space for Black lesbian women—and activist Marcia Rigg in Holding the Flame, a virtual statue commemorating her brother Sean Rigg, who died in police custody at Brixton Police Station in 2008. It also includes local landmarks and cultural spaces, such as the 121 Centre, Southwyck House, and Pearl Alcock’s underground bar for Black gay men in the 1990s. Scenes of daily life feature people socialising outside The Powerful Hand spiritual shop, queuing at Healthy Eaters restaurant, walking along Electric Avenue, and gathering in Windrush Square.

Rudy Loewe said:

"For my Art on the Underground commission, I wanted to capture the aliveness of Brixton. As soon as you step out of the Tube station, there's such a rich sensorial experience and it was this that I wanted to transmute into painting. There are preachers, loud music, people singing; you can hardly walk down the street without having an unexpected conversation with someone. It makes it a very special place in London. To me, there is something about all of this that is so West Indian and that I wanted to foreground."

Eleanor Pinfield, Head of Art on the Underground, added:

"Across our series of commissions for the station, artists have presented varying approaches to capturing Brixton. In The Congregation, Loewe distils the complexity of social, architectural, individual and generational histories, particularly of the Black community, into a hugely rich work sprawling across space and time. Millions of people will enjoy these vivid depictions of Brixton life and, perhaps, learn more about scenes featured in the work as they travel through the station."

Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, said:

"Rudy Loewe's mural beautifully tells the story of Brixton past and present. A rich history of activism and community brought to life through glorious technicolour. Another unmissable commission from our world-renowned Art on the Underground collection, making sure art and culture play their part helping us to build a better London for everyone."

James Reed CBE, Chairman and Chief Executive of Reed, sponsor of Art on the Underground, added:

"I am very excited to see Rudy Loewe's fantastically detailed and vibrant new painting for Brixton station. Discovering art on the Underground brings unexpected joy to commuters and as a Londoner myself I feel that this work captures the historical, social and cultural significance of Brixton in making London the city that it is today."

Image: Transport for London