Art at Street Level

Leeds has long had a creative pulse, but a new documentary, Art Around Every Corner, shows just how deeply that energy is embedded in the city’s streets. Created by husband-and-wife duo James and Vicky Wall, the short film celebrates the artists, muralists, and communities shaping Leeds through colour, texture, and story.

‍

A standout moment features Anthony Burrill’s You & Me, Me & You, a seven-storey mural painted onto a historic canal-side building. It’s bold, typographic, and unmistakably Burrill. More than that, it reflects a message of unity and connection, written large across the skyline. Burrill, who studied in Leeds, calls it a “homecoming” - and you can feel that sentiment in every brushstroke.

‍

It’s a reminder that public art isn’t just decoration. It’s orientation. It’s memory. It’s identity. These pieces - on shutters, side streets, and gable ends, do the quiet work of placemaking. They turn forgotten corners into focal points. They give a city its rhythm.

‍

What’s particularly compelling is how collaborative it all is. Artists working with communities. Communities feeding back into the art. There’s no top-down branding here - just creative expression woven into the urban fabric, often in the places that need it most.

‍

For anyone interested in how cities feel, not just how they function, Leeds offers a brilliant case study. Sometimes, the strongest sense of place comes not from masterplans, but from murals and personality.