Giant mural added to Edinburgh’s Usher Hall in support of Black Lives Matter

Artwork inspired by Sheku Bayoh unveiled on the side of Capital venue, as part of a trail of artworks across Scotland.

Giant new artwork has been unveiled at the Usher Hall Edinburgh in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Scottish artist Abigail Mills (aka Abz) has created a series of five strikingly colourful, thought provoking posters – including a large mural inspired by Sheku Bayoh, who died while in police custody in Kirkcaldy in 2015.

Scotland’s Black Lives Matter Mural Trail now has 24 artworks, across Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness, with over a dozen more planned in the coming weeks, in Stirling and Dundee.

Huge Black Lives Matter artwork added to Usher Hall

The large new mural at the Usher Hall, 'Justice for Sheku Bayoh' is an impressive 5.5 x 6.5 metre print on the venue's Glass Wing, while there are a further four images next to Lothian Road.

Cllr Donald Wilson, the Culture and Communities Convener, said: “This is hugely significant, not just culturally and artistically significant.

“It is in one of the most visible places in the city and will be seen from the road and by anyone walking past the Usher Hall.

“It is very high profile and this is a colourful and artistic statement of an injustice."

A giant mural inspired by Sheku Bayoh on the side of Edinburgh’s Usher Hall.

Cllr Wilson added: “For me, it is all about education. There’s a huge reeducation involved here and it is about retelling the past by the values that we now hold dear in the present.”

Aamer Anwar, lawyer for the Bayoh family, said: “The family of Sheku Bayoh & his partner Collette are deeply grateful to the artist for this mural which encapsulates for them their long struggle for justice and truth.

"It’s time that those who fly the banner of #BlackLivesMatter realised that there are also many George Floyds in the UK and their families need your support.”

Abz’s work joins The Neon Requiem’s three portraits on display at the Lyceum Theatre, text contributions by Annie George at The Traverse Theatre, and a further six posters featuring words by some of Scotland’s leading BAME musicians – including Mercury Prize-winning Edinburgh trio Young Fathers and Scottish singer Emeli Sande.

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