Introducing The Guardians of York

Over the past couple of months, we have been working away to bring you something both uplifting and heart wrenching. We wanted to think about ways to honour the people who have sacrificed a big part of themselves and their lives to give back to the community during a time of upheaval created by the pandemic. 

What started as an idea quickly turned into a concept, and then a plan. What we didn’t imagine happening was the emotion that would pour out from this project and the participants within it. They would come to pull at our heartstrings and make us prouder than ever to deliver a street art production which celebrates key workers.

Check out the video below to learn more…

 We sat down with eleven essential workers and asked them to tell their story of how Covid-19 affected their day to day job and life. We were moved by their honesty and transparency. We want to shine a spotlight on these individuals, which represent people in their field all over the world. These are the guardians that have kept this city moving forward, and so we call this project The Guardians of York. 

In just three weeks time, the faces of these brave homegrown heroes will splash the city walls of York, where we can all celebrate their hard efforts and achievements. 

Together with street artist collective @thepostmanart and the amazing support of @the_york_bid we have created a visual experience that navigates you through the streets of York where you will be able to spot the guardians on city walls in the form of temporary street art called paste-ups. 

Look out for a map coming soon which will guide you through the city of York and see if you can spot all eleven guardians. With their bright colours and larger than life sizes, we think they’ll be hard to miss! 

We extend our gratitude to all of the hard workers in every city who have stepped up to the challenge of keeping the world moving forward. We’ll keep our masks on, but may we take our hats off to you!