Advertisement
Art

Street artists pay tribute to Manchester’s defiant spirit

City responds to attack with outpouring of positivity through street art at The Outhouse project

Just over a week since the Manchester bomb attack claimed the lives of 22 people, the city continues to respond with messages of love and defiance in public spaces.

Windows, walls and billboards remain covered in “I Love MCR” signs. And in Stevenson Square in the Northern Quarter, street artists are using The Outhouse graffiti project as a focal point for expressions of solidarity.

Much of the work features depictions of bees – the symbol of Manchester’s industrious, tenacious workers, one included in the city’s crest of arms.

“We don’t want to turn it into a memorial; we just want to do something for the people of Manchester and show some love for the city really,” said artist Jay Sharples.

Tattoo shops across the city are offering to free bee design tattoos to raise funds for the victims and families affected by the attack.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Big Issue vendor Kevin, who sells the magazine in Winchester, created his own poignant street tribute to the victims of the attack at Manchester Arena, placing 22 flowers on the pavement surrounded by the message “God Bless.”

Manchester Big Issue vendor Colin, who sells the magazine at Cornerhouse, said he took some flowers to the memorial at the arena.

“We’ve just to try to keep going at the moment,” he said. “We’ve got to be vigilant and look out for each other.”

Top photo: @ChristianAllen8

Advertisement

Change a vendor's life this Christmas

This Christmas, 3.8 million people across the UK will be facing extreme poverty. Thousands of those struggling will turn to selling the Big Issue as a vital source of income - they need your support to earn and lift themselves out of poverty.

Recommended for you

Read All
Harry Hill, Opake, Real Hackney Dave and more design Christmas wrapping paper exclusively for Big Issue
Christmas Wrapping paper

Harry Hill, Opake, Real Hackney Dave and more design Christmas wrapping paper exclusively for Big Issue

'Love is the most powerful emotion there is': Artist Opake on homelessness, addiction and Christmas
Opake
Art

'Love is the most powerful emotion there is': Artist Opake on homelessness, addiction and Christmas

Fin DAC: 'As a creator of public murals, I aspire to leave spaces brighter than I found them'
Fin DAC
Fin DAC

Fin DAC: 'As a creator of public murals, I aspire to leave spaces brighter than I found them'

'It's art for people': This one-man kayak project shows the beauty of slowing down
Lying down flat in a kayak offers a rarely seen view of the UK’s waterways
Art

'It's art for people': This one-man kayak project shows the beauty of slowing down

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue