Foss Walk transformed by Street Art and the Big Community Challenge

Hot on the heels of the new mural unveiled on York Barbican is another piece of urban art brightening up a previously neglected part of the city on Foss Walk.

The mural was created by Yorkshire-based artist, Selkie Ray, and celebrates York’s connectivity to nature and water. The mural was commissioned by the York BID as part of an ongoing effort to introduce more street art to the city, and joins the murals on the Barbican, Coney Street, and Queen Street – all commissioned or supported by the BID.

This new mural was commissioned in partnership with York Cares as part of their Big Community Challenge 2023, which focussed on the maintenance and restoration of river and wetland areas in York. This year, York Cares celebrated their biggest Big Community Challenge to date, involving over 600 volunteers and working collaboratively with organisations including City of York Council, St Nicks and the University of York.

Selkie Ray specialises in painting the wild and wonderful, so was the perfect artist for this commission. She said: “Creating this mural in such a beautiful location has been a real joy. I’m very thankful to have been part of such a wonderful project.”

The mural is an impressive 23m long and features an underwater landscape filled with wildlife that can be seen from York’s riverbanks. It runs along Foss Walk behind Travis Perkins and Majestic Wines – an area that had previously been heavily graffitied and a busy route for locals accessing the city centre on foot.

Rachel Bean, Project Manager at the York BID, is leading the Street Art Project. She said: “We’re delighted to have installed two murals in such quick succession. This artwork, alongside the hard work of the volunteers, has completely transformed this area and is already having such a positive impact.”

Holly Hennell, Manager at York Cares, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be able to work in partnership with York BID to bring a vision of a mural on Foss walkway to life. The mural perfectly captures the work we have been doing across the city this June for our Big Community Challenge to transform river and wetland areas, and reflects the importance of our waterways. This will be a real legacy for our biggest challenge to date.”