A NEW mural that pays tribute to the history of Newquay Women’s Institute has been created.

Irish muralist and street artist Shauna Anseo has painted the artwork on the side of the Newquay WI Hall on Manor Road.

The mural depicts Lady Molesworth-St Aubyn, founder of the Newquay Women’s Institute. She is shown in profile and colourised from the original black-and-white photograph. She wears a delicate lace top and a flower brooch in the WI’s colours.

Shauna Anseo designed the mural as a collage of found images, using a VR headset to map and has drawn the outlines directly onto the wall.

A banner in the centre of the mural reads “Newquay WI, Inspiring Women since 1918.” The elements are framed within a triple-arched Art Nouveau window, with stained-glass details that root the piece in Newquay, including pilchards and the Huer’s Hut.

The tribute to Newquay WI is the eighth artwork in the Newquay Mural Trail, which aims to encourage visitors and residents alike to explore town’s streets, discover hidden corners, and enjoy art in everyday spaces. The mural project has once again been led by curator Jack Tierney from Slapdash Studios.

The design is informed by archival photographs of the WI’s founder, Lady Molesworth-St Aubyn, sourced from the National Portrait Gallery, alongside a reimagined version of the Newquay WI banner.

The stained-glass background, rendered in an Art Nouveau style, references the role of church halls in the organisation’s early years, the centrality of craft to the WI’s mission and activities, and the visual language of the period in which the group was founded.

London based artist Shauna Anseo creates large-scale figurative works that explore light, storytelling, and belonging. Her murals sit between portraiture and mythmaking.

Her practice is rooted in collaboration, often developed through dialogue with local schools, councils, and communities to uncover shared narratives and translate them into meaningful public works. She uses the illusion of light as both visual motif and metaphor, a small act of transformation that turns the ordinary into something magical.

The artwork is the second of three new murals being created after Newquay BID was awarded additional funding from the Town Regeneration and Investment Programme.

Newquay BID manager Mark Warren said: “It’s a fantastic tribute to the women of Newquay through the WI and a real addition to the town.

“Together, Shauna and Slapdash Studio brought the piece to life from the scaffold, painting with spray paint through a wet and windy week in December, surviving two storms in the process.”

The first of the new murals recently unveiled was created by internationally renowned artist Ben Allen from Newquay who painted a contemporary take of the Polly Joke poppies on the side of Truscotts Fish Bar in Fore Street.

The third new mural is being created on the side of the former Sunset surf shop on Fore Street. Illustrative artist Lauren Morsley from Dundee is painting a scene depicting life in Newquay featuring everything from surfers to dog walkers.