Street art brings to life museum's walls

Blank Wall Assassins, the leading force that has continuously placed Carlisle on the worldwide street art scene, brought one of France's leading muralists, Atma, to bring vibrancy to the rotunda at Tullie House. 

Anna Smalley, head of collections and engagement at Tullie, said: "We are absolutely over the moon with how this piece has turned out – it’s an amazing addition to the city’s creative scene and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

Telling stories through workshops to help create Atma artwork (Image: Stuart Walker Photography)

"We’ve been so inspired by the creativity, passion and dedication of Atma and the participants and can’t thank the Blank Wall Assassins team enough for making this happen.” 

Atma’s bright, bold and colourful artwork is a collision of cultures, telling the story of the people involved in its creation.

Atma ran workshops at Tullie engaging with people living in Carlisle from different countries including Ukraine, Taiwan, Eritrea, and Syria, leading to conversations that helped shape the final design. 

Atma at work on the Tullie walls (Image: Stuart Walker Photography)

Ben Heslop, one of Blank Wall Assassins’ directors, said: "We're so over the moon with the end result of this job.

"It's been one of the most intricate in design, from getting the walls to being allowed permission and then working with so many participants to come up with the design. To be part of all that journey and see it completed, it's very special. We've had a great response from the city. 

"We've just secured our next wall and artist, the city won't have to wait as long this time as we're looking to get it going end of June to the beginning of July," he said. 

Whilst the project is under wraps at the moment, Ben said the paint is destined close to the city centre. 

You can visit Blank Wall Assassins to see other projects here.