A huge new artwork in the city centre is now a focal point for the LMA Newcastle campus which is set to open its doors within weeks. Local artists Peter Manning - known as Prefab77 - and Jimmy Turrell have created a 30-foot mural on a building in St James' Boulevard which soon will be a hub of activity with the new campus launch in September.
The work was commissioned by independent art initiative Creative Central NCL in partnership with LMA and the idea behind the eye-catching mural is to celebrate creativity and community in an area that is fast becoming a hub for both. And LMA principal Deni Chambers is delighted with the result which she says represents exactly what the new venue is all about.
"We absolutely love it," she said, at this week's unveiling. "It’s bold, creative and has a real Newcastle edge to it - and to see the finished piece here alongside our new campus makes September suddenly feel very close."
Upon opening, the campus will be offering industry-led creative degrees in areas including music, film and TV production; acting; dance and business, with students receving practical experience, involvement in live projects and direct connections to industry. Deni added: "We said from the beginning that LMA wasn’t coming to Newcastle simply to open a building.
"We want to become part of the creative community that already exists here, support it and hopefully add something new to it." The mural, which transforms a gable end wall, merges the distinctive styles of the two artists, so forming a colourful new backdrop to LMA Newcastle’s newly-refurbished city home.
Co-creator Jimmy Turrell, an internationally-renowned artist, illustrator and creative director who is known for bold graphic work in music, fashion and publishing as well as public art, said: “It’s always special creating work in Newcastle. You approach a piece differently when it’s somewhere you know, somewhere you walk past and somewhere that’s part of your own city."