A Geordie street artist is set to create a massive mural stretching 90 metres along Newcastle's Quayside.
Newcastle street artist and graphic designer, Alex Mulholland, who is known as 'Mul Draws', has started work on the project that will turn the former bus lane on the Quayside into a work of art. The colourful design has been commissioned by NE1, the city centre's business improvement district, who are working with Newcastle City Council to bring more public art into the city.
Covering a distance of over 90 metres, NE1 said the installation will include Wesley Square and will be the biggest of its kind in the UK when completed. The work will be designed to be hard-wearing, and able to withstand people driving and walking on it, as well as coping with the rigours of the weekly, Quayside Sunday Market.
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This will be Mul Draws’ first road-based artwork, all his previous pieces have been large-scale, vertical murals on walls and buildings, including in the Ouseburn and on the corner of Pilgrim Street and High Bridge.
Stephen Patterson, chief executive at NE1 Ltd, said: "We are delighted to be working with Mul Draws on this exciting installation. We wanted to work with a local artist to visually transform the area and people’s perceptions of how it should be used.
"Mul has an impressive portfolio and produces works of art that help transform the areas they are in. Newcastle is a vibrant and dynamic city, and the Quayside is an iconic location, it’s important that the artwork reflects this and has a local connection.
“Our aim with this work, as with the wider Summer in the City events programme, has been to celebrate the Quayside and draw attention to its fantastic offer. It’s important that people know that there is always something happening and that the Quayside is a hive of activity, and not just during the summer months."
Councillor Lesley Storey, cabinet member for A Vibrant City at Newcastle City Council, hopes the mural will inspire people to learn more about art.
“It is our aim to make sure a diverse range of art and culture is accessible to everyone in the city whilst also championing locally based talent," she said.
“I am therefore delighted we are providing a platform for this amazing artwork to be displayed in such a dramatic location, and in place that can be viewed by all. If it can inspire people from all over the city to want to discover more about art in any form then we are doing our job and helping our ambitions to be realised.”
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