At the start of this month, for April Fools, we shared this (fake) image on social media. The motorway walls didn’t really feature this giant mural. We just wanted to make people smile – and also think.
Who are ‘we’ though? A bunch of us have formed to look at developing more public art across south Leeds. We’ve already scored some hits, over the past couple of years – including the murals featuring mice by the Dewsbury Road Council Hub and in Cross Flatts Park, those around the Dobsons and on the Premier shop on Dewsbury Road, those on Malvern Road, and most recently one near the Crooked Clock in Hunslet.
We’ve also been involved with the Tony Harrison stencil on the Marleys, with national artist Stewy; and also the forthcoming mural due for Hunslet Square, opposite the library. And this is a conversation stretching back over 10 years, which has stirred up glimmers of action locally through the years since. We were part of the original plans for a giant mural on the Garnets, overlooking Tunstall Road – and we’re glad to see this eventually resurfacing. There is growing energy, and it’s exciting to see.
But why? We believe art doesn’t belong simply in galleries and museums. Street art comes in many forms – and like any art, it generates a great range of responses. Beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder. I do personally believe that there’s some graffiti art which largely sends out a message of dilapidation and lack of care into the community – but that there is also street art which can lift and inspire people, brighten our communities, and add colour to our lives.
Street art can help us tell stories. It can build civic pride. There is bags of academic and social research on the power of daily exposure to colour and art, on our wellbeing. It can also help boost local economies – and we’re grateful to the Dewsbury Road Town Team for their support (and would be keen to work with other local businesses and commercial groups). And more.
Public art isn’t new: it arguably started with ancient cave art. In the modern era, street art first emerged in France in the 1940s and 50s, before putting down deep roots in North American cities including New York from the 1960s. It’s now spread worldwide, with special mention to the remarkable street art movement across south America, cities including Berlin and Melbourne, and the giant art of the separation wall in Palestine.
Here in Leeds, we’re catching on, and catching up. There are undoubtedly those with concerns about street art – like, does it not make our communities seem more messy, and/or does it perhaps conjure negative images of inner-city culture? I don’t believe there’s a single answer, and everyone’s beliefs are legitimate; the street art movement needs to prove itself, by creating good-quality art, which wins the hearts and minds of our diverse communities.
People do also ask about the law around street art – and the answer is, there is no single answer. Anything created without the permission of the landowner is officially illegal – but the bottom line is, many landowners seem happy when nice art appears on their property. Planning permission is in principle needed whenever anyone substantially changes the appearance of their property – but as nothing structural is taking place, enforcement is unlikely if the art isn’t offensive or provocative.
People also ask about the money. With the exception of particular commissioned pieces, like the forthcoming Hunslet Square and Tunstall Road pieces, there aren’t piles of cash available for this. No-one’s getting rich quick. However, there seem to be plenty of artists keen to be let loose on big walls, to create beauty in the community – and lots of other community projects are powered by volunteers, so why not this? So we’re keen to play a back-seat role, matching artists with opportunities, giving them a good deal of free rein (whilst also ensuring the art is high-quality, and a good fit with local people), covering their costs, and beautifying our community.
So far, we’re doing ok: a great range of local people have said how much they love the street art going up. New artists are always welcome; we’re also keen to hear from people with walls available for art; and if anyone wants to chip in with money for paint and tea, even better.
I return to the original question: who needs art? Art is not the whole answer. We also clearly need to work hard at the unglamorous things: housing, bins, potholes, policing, and all that.
But, to quote George Bernard Shaw (an Irish writer, thinker, and activist): “Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.” Art and culture are uniquely life-giving – and not just paintings, but all things creative, including sport, food, play, fashion, music and dance, gardening, writing, comedy, and so much more.
Can we re-imagine the landscape of our communities as a collective canvas for art? And also reboot our lives, and our collective community life, towards a more creative future? We can all be creative, in big and small ways, in public or private. Doing so will make our lives more beautiful and rich, and also that of others. What’s stopping us?
This post was written by Cllr Ed Carlisle (Green, Hunslet & Riverside)
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