Zone 2 – City Centre

Above the entrance to Haymarket Bus Station, Mr Cenz painted a striking futuristic portrait that blends photorealism with vibrant colour and abstract form. Known internationally for his cosmic, dreamlike portraits, Mr Cenz combines technical skill with a distinctive flowing style. This mural radiates energy and transforms the station into a bold gateway to the city.

On the site of the former Haymarket Theatre, Church of Bestever created a powerful homage to the story of Romeo and Juliet. The mural captures the timeless drama of Shakespeare’s tragedy, reimagined through the duo’s distinctive urban style. Known for blending photorealism with painterly textures and symbolic detail, Church of Bestever are a British pair whose collaborative works explore themes of love, loss, and the human condition.

Known for murals inspired by superhero and graphic novel aesthetics, Captain brought his bold, dynamic style to Bring The Paint 2022. This piece is a strong example of his work, blending comic book energy with large-scale street art impact.

German artist WILD showcases his remarkable skill in both realism and lighting, recreating a portrait he originally captured on film.

The UK-based Never Ready duo honour two Leicester locals: DMC champion Jon 1st and their close friend Gladys.

Birmingham artist Lucy Danielle blends illustration and realism to portray a creative, characterful image of a friend.

Known for his iconic motif, Birmingham artist TEMPO33 reimagined it in vibrant multicolour for Bring The Paint 2024.

Leicester illustrator Kino Bino demonstrates how smaller-scale works can sit proudly within the wider street art movement.

Leicester-based artist Verna Poppy painted a striking depiction of a woman holding a piglet for Bring The Paint 2024.

Leicester artist Sam Grubb marked Bring The Paint 2024 with his signature bold, bright, and playful monster artwork.

For Bring The Paint 2022, Rusl and Boogie teamed up to create a bold, letter-focused graffiti piece. Staying true to traditional graffiti styles, the mural highlights their shared passion for lettering, colour, and flow.

This mural by Nuno Viegas, created for Bring The Paint 2022, showcases the Portuguese artist’s iconic fusion of realism and graffiti culture. Set against a bold bright yellow throw up background, the piece features a large photorealistic hand holding an oversized spray can, a striking symbol of the connection between artist and craft.

French artists Mr Poes and JoBer continue their exploration of the Epic of Gilgamesh with The Encounter, a mural painted during the 2024 Bring The Paint festival. This piece delves into the moment when Gilgamesh meets his clay formed twin, Enkidu, brought to life to challenge him. The mural blends ancient myth with contemporary urban expression. Their fascination with Sumerian culture and the enduring legacy of one of humanity’s oldest stories is evident in this vibrant and dynamic work.

RCLS crew paid tribute to their longtime friend and Slovakian rapper, SEPAR. The artwork features a photorealistic portrait of SEPAR, seamlessly integrated with dynamic graffiti lettering that spells out “RCLS.” This piece not only celebrates their friendship but also reflects the crew’s global journey as graffiti artists, capturing the essence of their shared history and artistic evolution.

Rotterdam artist KINOS painted an abstract typographic wall exploring information overload. Inspired by Leicester’s historical names, his design was based on a physical collage of cut-up typefaces.

Dublin artist ACHES painted Sláinte in Leicester, a mural that bursts with colour and celebrates the idea of health and connection. Sláinte is a Gaelic word meaning “health,” commonly used as a celebratory toast. The mural experiments with overlapping transparent hues, using layers of colour on a predominantly white background to create shifts in tone and visual depth. Known for his innovative use of colour theory, ACHES’s work draws you in to see how the tones change with light and perspective, offering something new each time you pass by.

At LCB Depot, UK artist GENT created a bold pink character that bursts from the brickwork with vibrant energy.

Australian artist SMUG painted a hyper-realistic portrait of a friend, surrounded by personal imagery. Created from a phone photo, it confirmed his reputation as a world-class stylised photo-realist.

PHILTH returned with a floral William Morris inspired mural on Chutney Ivy restaurant, extending the themes of his 2017 work.

Next to SMUG’s towering mural on Yeoman Street Car Park stands another multi-storey artwork, this time by Dutch artist ERTJWE. His moody scene depicts a couple painting the London Underground, paying homage to traditional graffiti culture. Unusually for Bring The Paint, the mural was hand-painted entirely with emulsions rather than spray paint, giving it a distinctive texture and approach that sets it apart from the festival’s other walls.

Italian artist BRUS is celebrated for smooth, flowing letterforms. His wall shows why he’s regarded as a master of traditional graffiti.

SMUG’s multi-storey photo-realistic mural of a woman and bird is breathtaking in scale and detail — one of Leicester’s showstoppers.

Rubes revitalised a complex wall with a striking Art Deco tessellated pattern, showing bold precision.

Nottingham’s Alex Rubes transformed The Soundhouse with a tessellated wave pattern, bright colours, and graphic precision. The wall ranked in the UK’s top five B&Q Statement Walls of 2017.

Berlin’s globally renowned 1UP crew created a vast mural filled with colour and intricate storytelling. Look closely — there’s always more to discover.

For Bring The Paint 2019, Tasso painted a striking mural featuring a character holding two cans of paint, spread across two shutters. Tasso, a member of the Maclaim crew who are pioneers of realism in spray can art — brought his signature style to this piece. Birmingham-based writer SOME, known for his styled lettering, contributed by adding text to the paint cans, blending character work with classic graffiti lettering.

UK artist PHILTH shifted toward William Morris inspired floral motifs in 2017. His large wall marked a key point in his artistic evolution.

Mexican 3D artist Juanderez Vera painted a giant pencil sketch with a wooden mannequin emerging from graph paper. The interactive design invites visitors to pose with it for photos.

New York–based twins HOW and NOSM created this showstopping mural on Matrix House, overlooking Leicester’s ring road. Inspired by the song Blue Monday, the artwork explores hope and resilience after hardship. Their intricate, layered style shows how seamlessly the duo combine their talents into a unified vision.

Halfway down Queen Street, London-based duo Church of Bestever created a stunning hidden gem for Bring The Paint 2022. Known for their ability to blend photorealism with painterly textures and symbolic detail, the pair brought their distinctive collaborative style to Leicester once again, adding depth and character to one of the city’s quieter corners.

This crew paid homage to the cult film The Warriors, reimagining it as Yard Warriors. Their wall celebrates graffiti heritage with style and humour.

Manchester duo Nomad Clan created a portrait of Leicester kickboxing champion Natashan Mina, inspired by community workshops on female empowerment. The mural combines heritage, strength, and universal themes.

This collaboration combines VOYDER’s tag overlays with ACHES’ portraiture, creating a striking piece where graffiti and street art collide.

In 2020, Leicester City Council partnered with Graffwerk to introduce vibrant thermoplastic pedestrian crossings designed by artist Phil Blake (known as Philth). Installed at the Charles Street junctions with Halford Street and Rutland Street, these crossings serve as dynamic gateways linking the city centre to the Cultural Quarter. Crafted from durable preformed thermoplastic, the designs were applied overnight to minimize disruption. These crossings not only enhance pedestrian safety but also add a burst of colour and creativity to the urban landscape, reflecting Leicester’s commitment to integrating art into public spaces.

As part of a collaborative project with Highfields Centre Graffwerk transformed the exterior into a vibrant canvas in the heart of the community. This mural is deeply connected to the community and was designed following local consultation and workshop sessions. The artwork draws inspiration from the rich cultural tapestry of the Highfields area, incorporating elements that resonate with the local community’s identity.

In 2022, Leicester’s Carlton Street became home to a distinctive mural by the artist Voyder, part of the Bring The Paint festival. This artwork features a self-portrait of Voyder alongside a portrait of Sento, the festival director’s dog, both rendered in his signature style. The mural showcases Voyder’s unique approach to portraiture, blending classical elements with contemporary street art techniques.

Designed by MONO and completed by RUELO, this magpie holding a needle and thread references Leicester’s hosiery heritage.

The Southgates Underpass was transformed by a mural created by Graffwerk. The project reimagines a previously grey central vehicle route as a vivid public artwork. The mural uses a palette of autumnal tones to evoke seasonal change and the natural landscape. Interwoven with that composition are visual references to energy production. These link themes of sustainability, power generation and environmental awareness suggesting a relationship between the natural resources and the energy that supports contemporary life.

As part of an experimental series, Alert painted a bold letter “A” on the side of a shed at Yeomen Street, showcasing his distinctive approach to lettering.

Commissioned by Leicester City Council, 2023. Located on Horsefair Street, this collaborative mural celebrates Leicester’s rich market history. It features key figures such as Suffragette Alice Hawkins, who campaigned for women’s rights in the market square, and Ramsay MacDonald, the UK’s first Labour Prime Minister and former Leicester MP. Alongside these portraits are scenes of historic trading, and depictions of the Fish Market, the Corn Exchange, and long-lost 16th-century inns such as the Lion and Dolphin, White Swan, Angel, Bull’s Head, and Green Dragon.

Commissioned by BID Leicester, this mural welcomes visitors into the St Martin’s retail space with a vibrant underwater theme. A variety of marine creatures swim across the walls, creating an immersive and playful environment that guides shoppers through the space.