Eye-catching and unmissable the colourful murals on the walls of Sinfin’s subways were painted by local graffiti artists to capture the attention of young people and encourage them to follow the coronavirus guidelines.

The murals are a novel approach to promoting the City’s campaign, ‘Let’s do the right thing for Derby’, that aims to raise awareness across Derby on the vital actions we can all take to ensure that we remain safe and reduce the risk of catching or passing on the virus.

Today, the Leader of the Council, Councillor Chris Poulter, went to see one of the murals on Sinfin Lane, and thank the team behind their creation, Baby People, a music and arts organisation based in the city.

Cllr Poulter said:

They are fantastic, and I am grateful to the artists who painted them and to Baby People, whose idea it was, to adapt the ‘Let’s do the right thing for Derby’ campaign. Baby People’s expertise in the arts, and working with young people, is invaluable in shaping our response to the pandemic in a way that is effective. We recognise and value the capability that exists within our partners, such as Baby People, and their ability to communicate and engage with our communities.

Our voluntary and community partners have played an incredibly important role in our local response to COVID-19. We could not have supported our residents without their leadership and significant contribution. I would urge everyone who is in the area to take a moment to look at the murals.

During his visit Councillor Poulter spoke to Baby People’s Managing Director, Baby J.

Baby J said:

The Council has always backed us in our work, and we wanted to help them. We came up with the idea of the murals because we wanted to talk to young people in their own language, and they are more likely to take notice of murals than generic public health messages. We’ve already had some great feedback from the young people who have walked by as they were being painted which is great because it shows that graffiti art is a surefire way of getting them to take notice.

Baby People’s Instagram followers are also being reminded to wash their hands and wear a mask, in two short music videos that have been posted on the organisation’s account.

The two murals can be seen in the subways on Sinfin Lane and Cromarty Close.