Up to 15 sites will be transformed this week, with the chance to see the artists at work on buildings where the owners have granted permission for the permanent murals. Painting will be complete by Saturday 29 October 2016 with a celebratory tour of the trail and a vibrant art market being planned for November.
Professor Vanessa Toulmin, Chair of the Sheffield Culture Consortium, said: “This is a fantastic celebration of contemporary art and culture with murals from some of the most talented, innovative and highly regarded people in their field today which will enhance and build on Sheffield’s international reputation for murals.”
“Practitioners from France, Italy, and Spain are joining forces with their contemporaries from UK, and more importantly, Sheffield – and the whole city will be able to view their work.”
The event is part of the Year of Making, a celebration of all forms of making in the city and region, and the Making Waves artist development programme. Curated by Bradbury and Blanchard (Sheffield based artists Kid Acne and EMA) the trail brings talented artists to the city for the venture.
"Sheffield has a long tradition of spontaneously lending walls to its most creative artists, which has attracted journalists and photographers to the city over recent years. We feel it is now time to celebrate this unique quality. Feature Walls is a large scale trail of murals in the heart of the city centre."
Kid Acne
Local artist and hip-hop musician
Taking inspiration from the success of similar art trails throughout the world, the 'canvases' have been selected in the heart of the city centre, predominantly along and around Devonshire Street. A trail map will be available in the city and online to guide people around the artworks.
Sheffield Business Improvement District (BID) has supported the event and manager Diane Jarvis said: "It will be a great experience to see these hugely talented artists at work in the city bringing their work to thousands of people. There's no doubt the trail will also encourage people into the city to see all the different artworks and enjoy everything Sheffield has to offer.”
“One of the BID’s key themes is “cleaner” and this sort of activity is just one of the measures we’re investing in to help the city centre feel cleaner, more enjoyable and more sociable.”