Bringing pops of colour and striking imagery to the industrial city we call home, the street art in Manchester is pretty impressive and we can’t take our eyes off it as we wander through. And according to a recent study, the street art in Manchester is considered one of the best cities in the UK for it. But we knew that already anyway…
Analysing Instagram hashtags, TikTok views and Google search volume of each town and city, South Western Railway carried out a study revealing the UK’s top locations to explore British street art. Ranking in third place, was the capital of the North, Manchester, beating off competition from Glasgow and Liverpool, by racking up over 34,000 Instagram hashtags making it clear that there’s much to discover in the red brick city.
Manchester was unfortunately beaten by England’s capital and the home of Banksy, Bristol, came in second place for the best street art. London scored a perfect 100, trouncing all other locations in the study by achieving the highest figures for each metric, most notably TikTok views.
The street art scene in Manchester took off when the 2016 Cities of Hope festival commissioned a number of large-scale murals. Now becoming its own hub of urban art in the UK, Manchester has racked up over 200,000 TikTok views of its offerings – the second-highest views of all places in the UK (so, not too shabby). Today, Axel Void, Akse and Faunagraphic are just a few prominent artists you’ll find while wandering the streets of Manchester.
The Northern Quarter of Manchester leads the street art scene in the city. Start at Port Street to find murals by Mateus Bailon, Faunagraphic and Nomad Clan. Then head to Stevenson Square, where disused public toilets are frequently updated with new artwork. Next, stroll through Thomas Street, High Street and Salmon Street, where new additions can always be found.
Discover the full results of the survey here.