Giant Birthday Card Town Centre Sculpture for the London Borough of Harrow’s 60th Birthday
WeTheSeeds (Public Arts Placemaking UK) was commissioned by Harrow Business Improvement District (HA1BID) to design and craft a striking, giant birthday card sculpture in celebration of Harrow’s 60th anniversary.
HA1BID x Harrow’s 60th
The process
The project began with concept development, where WeTheSeeds (Public Arts Placemaking UK) collaborated closely with Harrow Business Improvement District (HA1BID) to define the scale, materials, and overall design of the giant birthday card.
Our goal was to create a visually striking piece that could also serve as a platform for community engagement.
Once the design was finalized, the card was fabricated from durable plywood with an internal scaffolding structure to ensure public realm stability and safety. The construction process involved precise cutting, assembly, and hand-painting to bring the design to life.
The design itself was inspired by a local art deco theme, touching on metroland and early Transport for London poster media. The design also contained a giant QR code which explained more about the campaign on a digital platform, keeping true to what a real life birthday cards’ design would look like!
Digital design pre-install mockup below:
Growing the seeds
Once completed, the giant town centre birthday card was installed in Greenhill Place, Harrow (HA1 2EB), where it became the centerpiece of a community celebration on Saturday 23rd August 2025.
We hosted the engagement day with residents of all ages invited to interact with the installation, sharing their personal memories of Harrow and writing messages directly onto the card.
The community engagement event transformed the card into a living testament to the town’s history and community spirit. It not only celebrated Harrow’s 60th birthday but also fostered meaningful connections between residents, turning the artwork into a vibrant symbol of shared stories, pride, and local identity.
Images of the final town centre sculpture can be found below:
We worked with the team to share behind-the-scenes updates and event highlights on social media, engaging the wider community and celebrating Harrow’s 60th birthday online. We also had a social media influencer create “Vox-pop” video content with members of the community. Lastly, we logged key community insights and data collected from the day into a spreadsheet, and delivered this to our clients.