New mural unveiled at York Barbican

A new mural celebrating music and culture has been unveiled on York Barbican this week.

The mural has been commissioned by the York BID as part of an ongoing programme to introduce more street art to the city.

 Yorkshire mural artist and designer, Charlotte (Emmeline) North, won the commission to design a mural based on the York Narrative – a piece of work that looked at what York means to the people who visit and live in the city.

 Charlotte said, “I think it’s great that businesses are invested in art for the city. I'm thrilled to be creating a mural in York, my mum's side of my family are from here. We’ve had a great response so far, and it's been lovely to hear that gentle York accent while chatting to people.” 

 As one of the biggest performance venues in the city, York Barbican was the perfect home for this piece. The mural features Charlotte’s signature bright and abstract style, reflecting movement, rhythm, and connection.

Images: York Bid

 The mural is the largest to be commissioned by the BID so far at 14m long and 2m high. It runs along the Fishergate side of the Barbican – a busy route for those accessing the city by car, bicycle, and on foot.

 It has been created using environmentally friendly paint by Graphenstone. The paint is free of plastic and other harmful toxins, and uses natural materials developed into a formula that is proven to absorb CO2 from the environment, creating a ‘living’ mural that acts as an adult tree.

 Rachel Bean, Projects & Finance Executive at York BID said, “I love the energy and flow of Charlotte’s work. York is bursting with creative talent, and this piece beautifully captures that. Our ambition with this project is to create new destination points in the city, and hopefully encourage residents and visitors to explore new areas.”

 Sam Ryder, Manager at the Barbican, said: “Arts and culture is in the bloodstream of the city of York. At York Barbican, we continue to strive to bring the best live entertainment to York, and we are very grateful to be a part of this cultural transformation of the city. Now everyone will take in a piece of the incredible atmosphere that’s created inside the Barbican as they travel past”.

Images: York Bid