Supporting mural artist for Biddulph Youth & Community Zone

OUTSIDE is supporting Biddulph-born artist Ethan Lemon to create a mural at Biddulph Youth & Community Zone after it was severely fire-damaged last year. The large mural is being co-designed with regular users of the Zone and will celebrate all the good things about Biddulph; its heritage; the rich connection to floral abundance; and its community heroes. It will be situated on the walls of the Zone’s garden which provides a space for reflection for the community.

Ethan Lemon was selected by Zone manager Anthony Capostagno due to his strong local connection to the Zone. Ethan grew up in Biddulph, where his family still live, and was a regular at the Zone. Anthony supported Ethan’s developing art, and some of his early murals are still on the walls of the Zone. Ethan now creates large-scale spray painted murals in public spaces and for organisations and businesses across the UK.

Anthony Capostagno said: “This is an amazing opportunity for Ethan to do something in his local community. It’s sad that we were the victim of an arson attack, but from something bad there has been such a positive response. Our community came together to support us, and we can now rebuild the back of the centre. The mural will reflect the local community, from our beautiful flowering gardens to our mining heritage.”

Ethan Lemon said: “It’s an honour to be asked to create such a large mural in my hometown of Biddulph, especially for the Zone. I grew up attending the Zone multiple nights a week. Ant and Liz always encouraged and facilitated my creativity when it wasn’t really seen as a cool thing or a viable career. Ant first let me paint a mural at the centre when I was 13. He bought some big canvases and some spray paints and let me get creative on one of my nights at the youth club. Fast forward 10 years later, I’m painting murals full time as a self-employed artist living in Manchester and painting murals all over the country, from Stoke and Manchester to Essex, Bristol and Glasgow.

“I’m excited to see what we can come up with and really looking forward to working with the OUTSIDE project and the local community that uses the Zone to create this community mural,” Ethan added.

Sarah Bird, OUTSIDE’s creative director, said: “We’re thrilled to support Ethan in the creation of this special artwork for the Zone. After the devastating fire, we wanted to help rebuild this brilliant place in some way. Ethan’s a really talented artist and, with his connection to the Zone, the perfect person to work on this project. We’re excited to see the design he’s creating with the local community and watch Ethan paint the mural. And hopefully Ethan and the mural will inspire local budding young artists.”