A small army of young people have spent the week creating a ‘Memory Bank Mural’ on the car park walls at Armley Leisure Centre.
The mural features a collection of stories from the young people and residents of Armley and features local landmarks such as Gotts Park, as well as celebrating the diversity of the area and the different languages spoken.
The mural was commissioned by Leeds Youth Services, who worked alongside Armley-based We Belong Here CIC, which aims to increase expression in the community and celebrate creativity and diversity.
Creative Director Natasha Joseph is a multi-media artist and curator, and is the artistic director of We Belong Here. She said:
“We’ve had so many young people over the week, it was so impressive to see how focused and dedicated they were, and you can see the results!
“We collected stories from the young people and locals from Armley to inspire our design as well as 100+ submissions of Cats from Armley to be featured in the mural! (Not all of them, unfortunately).”
More than 30 young people helped create the mural, with paint supplied by Seagulls Paint off Kirkstall Road. The project was funded by the council’s inner West Community Committee.
Earlier this month WLD featured We Belong Here’s work on the first Armley Bunting Festival, which runs until the end of the month. The bunting, which can be found at several points in Armley, has been created by community members to reflect people’s experiences of lockdown.