Community mural crowns student’s year-long placement
Let us spray – student runs street art course. Tony Henderson reports
Student Adam Graham has designed and delivered his own course in street art, culminating in a new mural at the heart of Northumbria University’s city campus.
Adam, a final year graphic design student, completed a year-long student in residence placement with Converge Northumbria.
Backed by the National Lottery Community Fund, Converge offers free educational campus-based opportunities to those 18+ in the community who have or are experiencing challenges associated with mental health.
Participants are enrolled as a ‘Converge student’ and become part of the wider community, working alongside university students and academics.
Adam planned and delivered ‘There Will Be Paint’ – a short course exploring spray painting and street art.
The programme saw six Converge students collaborate with Adam to create the artwork now displayed on the side of the Northumbria Students’ building.
For Adam, the student in residence placement gave him the opportunity to gain experience in community art while completing his sandwich year.
“The whole experience really helped me gain new skills and focus on what I want in the future,” said Adam, who is neurodivergent and chose to study at Northumbria because of the opportunities to work on live design briefs which are part of the Graphic Design BA Honours programme.
“I want to be a community muralist, working with people and breaking down barriers. I’ve always felt supported at Northumbria and this placement with Converge has really helped me gain confidence and empowered me as an artist.”
Adam’s interest in street art grew through volunteer work with the arts charity Art Shape.
During the four-week course Adam ran with Converge, students explored the history of graffiti before developing collaborative designs.
Director of Converge Northumbria, Ally Hunter-Byron, said: “The student in residence placement allows students to use their degree and learning to support our work. The point is that students are so integral to Converge – they learn from each other and help break down stigma around different student populations.
“We’re all so proud of Adam and everything he has achieved so far. We can’t wait to see what comes next for him.”
The mural project was supported by Northumbria Students’ Union, Northumbria’s Technical Resource Centre and the National Lottery Community Fund.