On a recent trip to the midlands to see Lee’s family, I asked his nephew Niall for the lowdown on local street art. Niall lives in Nuneaton where there’s a lively scene, and is a graffiti artist himself. He recommended we go to Leicester though, where there’s much more, so off we went!
We parked at Graff HQ, who sell paint and all sorts of other stuff you need for a street art project, as well as having a lovely cafe to grab a refreshment.
We picked up a guide to Leicester street art which is a brilliant booklet with tons of pictures, information and maps. It was produced in conjunction with GraffWerk, an arts project team which brings together artists for festivals and events around the country but mainly in Leicester.
There was far too much to cover in the short time we had, but we picked out some good spots and headed out.
We started right next to Graff HQ on the canal path, where there was a mixture of murals and graffiti. I thought it was quite precarious, as I was really tempted to take a few steps back to admire the pieces there but was paranoid about ending up in the water!
Leicester hosts pieces by artists from around the world, and the street art guide includes short bios for the prominent artists who have painted there.
We continued our walk along the canal and into town, through a subway and then into the main city centre.
Bring The Paint was established by GraffWerk in 2017 as a major street art festival which featured over 200 artists. There are some huge pieces in and around the St George’s Cultural Quarter.
There are quite a few legal sites around Leicester and they are detailed in the street art guide. As you drive around, there are murals everywhere. It’s a shame we couldn’t stay longer because we barely scratched the surface on our trip.
I would highly recommend a Leicester street art tour if you’re in the area, and do pick up the guide as it’s super-useful.
