'They can grow up to be anything': New Dewsbury Road mural aims to inspire Beeston’s children

Painted by local artist Karl Canning, the mural depicts four children of different ethnicities in a range of roles - from emergency service workers to boxers - set against a colourful backdrop.

For Canning, 44, who has spent most of his life in the suburb, the work is about far more than brightening a tired old wall. It is about reflecting and inspiring the diverse community of Beeston.

Located next to one of Beeston’s busiest bus stops, the mural has already become a talking point, with families and children stopping to chat and take it in.

“The amount of comments that I have had on the street [has] been in the hundreds - over 200 people saying they love it, it’s fantastic, it’s amazing,” he told the Yorkshire Evening Post.

Originally, Canning had considered a more traditional design.

“I originally wanted to paint some birds and some cherry blossoms,” he said. “But then I thought they only bloom for a month or two a year, so there’s no point.”

Instead, community partners asked for something that better reflected the area’s diversity.

“We wanted something multicultural for this piece, because it’s a very multicultural area,” Canning said. “So I found some photographs of kids of different races and then changed them a little bit so that they weren’t actually photographs of real children.”

He wanted local children to see themselves in the work - and to see what might be possible for them.

“I created this as a piece to inspire kids,” he explained. “I find that there’s not enough art for children.”

“When they see something that’s designed for them, based around them and looks like them, I think it has a big impact on their mental well-being.”

Canning is part of a local LS11 street art group, a loose collective of artists aiming to “change the face of LS11” by transforming dirty, tagged and neglected walls into vibrant murals.

“We want to turn it into an art hub of the North,” he explained. “We want to create streets where people feel lifted by what they see, rather than pulled down - graffiti, messy bricks and potholes don’t lift people’s spirits.”

Since work began three weeks ago, the mural has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the community, though there have also been a minority of racist comments, particularly after the first completed portrait - of a Black girl - was revealed.

“It was a shame that it got a lot of racist comments, because I did the black girl first,” Canning said. “I think you can’t please everyone, and there will always be a racist person.”

In an online post, he addressed the issue directly while urging people to focus on the children at the heart of the work.

“This mural isn’t about race, it’s about inspiring our children… Their race doesn’t even have to be mentioned, so please, for their sake, don’t mention it. Instead, please just support them,” he wrote.

For now, Canning is focusing on the positive response the work has received, both online and on the street.

“Personally, I’m so happy with it,” Canning, who humbly describes himself as an amateur artist, said. “And I think the fact that it is for kids and it is inspiring kids is more important than any racist comment.

“They can grow up to be anything - a police officer or fireman, a boxer, a doctor - and I think just knowing that they can grow up to be any of those things is great.”