A new mural celebrating Sheffield, its people and its places has been painted on the wall by the walkway between Sheffield’s bus and rail stations as part of a project to brighten up the transport interchange facilities.
South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) is working in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University to renovate the space with artistic interventions to make it more friendly. Since 2022 around 400 university students and alumni have been involved in a number of projects in and around the building.
“My inspiration for this mural is how people connect to a city, to a place and started to think ‘How do I connect to a place when I go on holidays?’”, says former Sheffield Hallam University Design student Molly Jones, who painted the mural.
Museums, parks and landmarks are some of the obvious answers, but the illustrator also thought of public transport, which is how many tourists circulate in new places.
“Doing some research, I stumbled on some Sheffield bus tickets from the 90s, which have beautiful shapes and forms. I also noticed they had adverts for some of the city’s attractions on the back of them and started working from there."
“I thought the adverts could highlight what locals love about the city but could also be a guide for those arriving in Sheffield via rail or bus. In the end I used the shapes from the tickets and did a bit of a collage about Sheffield and its places.”
Molly moved to the city to go to University and, as many other students, decided to stay after graduating.
“I think I fell in love with Sheffield when I first came to visit, while looking at universities across the country. I got a lift with a friend and we parked near Fargate. As soon as we stepped out of the car I saw two big portraits, and then I saw a mural here, another there… and I thought: ‘Wow, this city must really support its artists!’ and that has been my experience since…”
The partnership between SYMCA and Sheffield Hallam University’s Future Now initiative gives the university students and alumni an opportunity to apply their knowledge and try out different projects while improving the environment at the interchange for all.
This project is now entering its second year and will expand to other transport interchanges across South Yorkshire.
Check out more of Molly's work on her website and Instagram.