The wooden black gates look tired and old, with the slats of timber threatening to fall from the fascia. Perhaps the painting is all that is needed to save them.
The Kirkgate is a main street in central Leeds. It’s spick-and-span, with many cafes and boutique shops that have sprouted up here one by one.
Times change and so does the face of a city, but this mural with a railway bridge overhead, a simple design with the message ‘United We Stand’ in Leeds United’s colours, has been on show for six years, a small part of Kirkgate’s fabric. Although it needs to be repainted occasionally, it still survives in an age where everyone has a right to develop their property and individuality is more important than conformity and wealth.
This painting was created by a Frenchman, and a Belgian lady. They were invited to England by East Street Arts in 2016. East Street Arts is a charity that supports emerging artists, and addresses the decline of commercialization in cities and towns. Jiem Washere, and Mary Limonade were passionate about football and the English game. They spent their time at Elland Road and fell in love with the place. Then, near the site of East Street Arts’ first hostel, they drew up their little masterpiece.
The mural is not obvious to the uninitiated, but it is very important.
Jon Wakeman, East Street Arts’ artistic director, said it was a catalyst for the rise of street art in Leeds.
Wakeman was a traveler who had visited places like Berlin, Athens, and Istanbul. He found vibrant scenes that were far more interesting than those closer to home. “The more street art popped up in Leeds, the more people realised that it was OK,” he says. “They realised that street art can be really cool.” It was graffiti with a positive purpose, the best kind.
