Swansea City themed football heritage mural unveiled in city centre
Swansea City has worked with local street artist Hasan Kamil to install a brand new Swans-themed mural on Salubrious Place in the city centre.
The mural will make up part of Kamil’s Muriau Mawr project as he looks to turn Swansea into the street art capital of Wales by bringing colour and culture to the city’s centre with five large scale paintings and five smaller ones.
Kamil is known worldwide for his incredible artwork and the club commissioned him to complete a Snoop Dogg image in the Access G stairwell in the stadium’s West Stand last summer, while his work can also be seen in The Swansea Jack.
After being involved in similar mural trail artwork projects in other cities across the UK, he was keen to bring something similar to his hometown of Swansea.
Muriau Mawr is a community-led art project which invites people from across the city to consult on the theme of the artwork. Members of the Jack Army joined Kamil, Mioe creative productions and Swans legends Alan Curtis and Kev Johns to talk about what they wanted to see represented.
The overwhelming theme was fans and family with the group keen to pay homage to the club’s past while also showing an exciting future.
The final image depicts grandad (Salvatore Rullo) with his granddaughter (Rosa Allen) in the stands, with fans behind them. The words “Feels Like Home” adorn part of the wall, while the addition of “Since 1912” and a portion of the old yellow gate which led to the players entrance at The Vetch hint to the club’s past.
Kamil said: “Football is a huge part of Swansea and its culture and it needed to be one of the themes. I approached the Swans early on and was hoping the club might want to be involved and that’s how the football heritage mural came about.
“We wanted it to be a community piece working with the community and showing the community and we decided on a grandfather and granddaughter. Salvatore and Rosa fit that bill perfectly.
“There were lots of words and phrases that came out of the consultation. But really ‘feels like home’ was my favourite and the group’s favourite.
“I felt a lot of pressure. I just wanted the fans who had been consulted and been part of the process to like it, and I think we’ve done that.
“I wanted to have integrity behind the artwork, but also I wanted the fans to feel like they have ownership over the mural.”
Thanks to Kamil’s work, Swans fan Rullo is now representing supportes across the city as the focus of the artwork, and he has great pride in the role he has played.
He added: “To be a part of the modern Swansea and the new architecture and artwork like this is absolutely awesome.
“Football goes in unison with family, and Swansea City is a family-orientated club so this is amazing.
“I’m so proud to have been part of this process, and hopefully this mural will last for years to come.”
The Muriau Mawr project will see artwork of various themes including Welsh language, poetry and women’s voices installed around the city in the coming months, with the final outcome being a map and trail around the city which people can follow and enjoy.
Keep an eye on @fiyacreative on Instagram for updates about the project.