Navigator North’s WE SHALL BE is a groundbreaking community-led commissioning programme, designed to transform public spaces around Middlesbrough Railway Station in Middlesbrough – a key gateway into the town.
WE SHALL BE is the English translation of ‘Erimus’, Middlesbrough’s motto.
We are using the motto for the town as a provocation to understand what people want Middlesbrough to be, our aspirations for the place and how we might manifest that through this programme of public art commissioning and creative placemaking in the public realm.
It builds on Navigator North’s work from 2020 onwards to lead the way on creative placemaking in this part of Tees Valley, through the national Historic England funded High Street Heritage Action Zones and Know Your Neighbourhood programmes. It also aligns with and amplifies the current Most Creative Station programme produced by Navigator North with Cultural Development Funding through Arts Council England.
Photo credit – Rachel Deakin
Running from February 2025 into 2026, this exciting new project is focusing on civic pride and community spirit by developing site-specific artworks informed by collaborative thinking, place-based working, and meaningful engagement with local communities. WE SHALL BE is more than a commissioning programme; it is a movement that places the creativity and voices of Middlesbrough’s communities at its core. Together, we aim to shape public spaces that reflect the spirit, pride, and resilience of the town.
Acclaimed Tees Valley artist Stuart Langley has been commissioned to create a striking new public artwork titled ‘hold me and show me you love me’ – installed at Middlesbrough Railway Station in mid September 2025 – pictured above. This ambitious piece, incorporates donated old mobile phones as a core component of its design and collaboration with the public.
Nick Blaney, aka Goodnight Vienna, was commissioned to produce a large scale mural themed on the motto of Erimus/We Shall Be, on the overhead sections of the A66 flyover on Albert Road, which he installed in early September 2025.
Through a series of community engagement artists Nic Golightly and Sarah Falconer have gathered creative responses from local communities which have informed the development of a series of murals pictured below, designed by Nic Golightly and painted by Nick Blaney.
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