North Shields mural celebrating 800 years of the town in the running for International Street Art award
A large-scale mural created as part of the North Shields Elevation Mural Festival is on track to be voted the best new mural in the world.
Nina Valkhoff's mural, The Chase on Norfolk Street in North Shields is currently in top position in the votes for the International Street Art Cities Best of July Award.
150 murals, originating anywhere from Australia to North Shields, are in the running for this prestigious award.
Nina Valkhoff is a muralist from Rotterdam who has been painting for over 23 years. The mural she has created in North Shields depicts an underwater chase between two gannets and a cormorant, capturing the beauty beneath the waves where the River Tyne meets the North Sea.
Nina explained: “I think North Shields is so charming. It has a nice atmosphere, really relaxed. And what I really want to highlight is how nice the people are. That will stick with me forever.
"To win this award would be a huge honour for me, but also for the organisers of Elevation Walls, and for the people of North Shields.”
The public can help to put North Shields on the international street art stage by voting for Nina’s mural here before August 10.
The North Shields Mural Festival is being led by Elevation, a local arts charity with a mission is to breathe new life into blank walls and create a renewed sense of pride and place in North Shields.
It is funded by the North East Combined Authority via North Shields 800, Karbon Homes, Adderstone Living and RW Mann Trust, with additional donations from art sales and local residents who have generously contributed to help bring this vision to life.
Matt Wilson, chair of the Elevation charity added: “Nina’s giant-sized artwork has really got people in the area talking. From the tiny tots of the YMCA nursery who came down to take a look, to older residents who have seen many changes in the town over the years.”
Each mural celebrates a different aspect of the town’s unique character and colourful history, marking 800 years of North Shields’ history.
The finished artworks will become part of a new North Shields Mural Trail, transforming the town into an open-air art gallery.