London mural festival kicks off

The streets of London are playing host to the city's first Mural Festival.

Welcoming more than 150 artists from nearby and across the world, the festival will see over 60 original murals brighten the walls of private houses, housing estates and cultural centres across the city.

D*Face is a UK based street artist.

D*Face: "So, each mural takes, each mural takes about a week of pre-planning and then about a week of painting. So irrespective of the scale, they generally take 5 to 7 days."

The artists will all be expressing their own style while taking the wishes of the wall's owner into account.

Lee Bofkin is founder and CEO of the London Mural Festival.

Bofkin: "We believe, strongly, that our city should be painted more. They encourage people to slow down, to have new conversations, to appreciate their environment a bit more, to get off their phone a little bit. Or, to share it on their phone but encourage other people to leave the house a bit."

The artists hope that the murals they are working to create throughout the September festival, will be enduring and uplifting features on the city's streets.

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