Leeds City College

Art students from Leeds City College have created a stunning new mural for The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).

The NSPCC invited Level 3 Art & Design students Bear Foley Mitchell (Age 18) and Lauren Atkinson (Age 19) along with teacher and artist Clare Booker to create a mural for their Leeds hub office space.

Bear, Lauren and Clare were part of the larger team who created a mural for the NSPCC Leeds hub in June of 2023, transforming two walls of a plain, white corridor into a colourful, abstract of nature featuring leaves, rainbow and flowers. The positive response from NSPCC staff and service users prompted an invitation back to create a new mural this year.

Artwork creates relaxing environment

The new mural leads to therapy rooms where NSPCC practitioners work with children and young people on services including Letting the Future In, which supports those who have experienced sexual abuse, and Domestic Abuse Recovering Together, which helps children and mothers rebuild relationships after experiencing domestic abuse.

Local artist and teacher of art and design Clare Booker commented:

“Last year the NSPCC in Leeds approached the college, asking whether our art students would be interested in painting a mural for their office spaces. They wanted to create a calm, relaxed environment for those who use the space.

“The charity loved what the students produced and discussed more future projects. They got in touch again earlier this year, with a different room in mind. Again the brief was to create a relaxing and calm environment and to provide a space in which young children and teenagers would feel at ease.

“Two students from L3 Art & Design and myself worked on some designs, focusing on the theme of landscape. We considered which colours would work together and how we could incorporate different elements our designs into one bigger landscape.

“The final design was then scaled this up for the wall mural. The painting took 3 days to complete, using household emulsion paint.

“This was a great experience for the students, who arrived early each day, keen to get started. It was rewarding for myself, as a teacher, to see the students enjoying the process and taking responsibility, making important creative decisions independently.

“We worked really well as a team, dividing the areas of the painting so we could all work on it together. Hopefully more projects to come soon!”