Ten Sheffield street artists who gave the Pride of Yorkshire trail its roar

Take a walk around Sheffield this summer and you can’t miss them: life sized lions and lionesses, beautifully painted with various vibrant designs, are everywhere. They belong to the Pride of Sheffield, the Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity’s latest sculpture trail.

To celebrate 150 years of Sheffield Children’s hospital, 300 lions, lionesses and cubs can be found all over South Yorkshire. Taking inspiration from the large feline residents of the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster.

Lots of artists have gotten involved, including many of Sheffield’s amazing street artists. Here are ten of them, and the walls they’re better known for.

Pete McKee

Born-and-bred Sheffielder, Pete McKee, is a patron of the Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity’s arts programme. Whilst not primarily a street artist, his large scale murals are some of the most loved contributions to Sheffield’s street art scene. To locals, his style is instantly recognisable with his nostalgic depictions of Northern working-class life with a touch of warmth and humour.

Pete has painted two sculptures for the Pride of Yorkshire. Once Were Warriors is on the Lower Avenue of Meadowhall and The Transplant Game can be found on the steps of Sheffield’s City Hall.

Kid Acne

Kid Acne is an illustrator and musician, and has been part of Sheffield’s street art scene for many years. From backstreets to prominent walls, his large-scale slogans with hand-drawn typography and signature warrior women are found everywhere. A personal favourite is his ‘The Birth Of Hip-Hop’ mural on South View Road, originally painted in 2014.

Kid Acne has a lioness sculpture in Sheffield outside Ponds Forge, There, and a lion in Doncaster, Here, which can be found outside Cast.

Faunagraphic

Heavily inspired by the natural world, and birds in particular, Faunagraphic’s murals are a well established favourite for many. She’s been involved in the street art scene for over two decades and created many popular Sheffield murals. For a long time, commuters headed towards the train station were greeted by her tribute to steel pioneer Harry Brearley on Howard Street. More recent pieces have brightened up areas in the south of the city.

Faunagraphic’s contributions to the trail includes her Pride of Birds outside Ice Sheffield and her Pride of Butterflies by Lady’s Bridge in Sheffield city centre.

Jo Peel

Jo Peel’s murals are instantly recognisable for their bold black-and-white illustration’s of urban decay and regeneration with splashes of turquoise, orange and flashes of pink. Her many murals around Sheffield are often mentioned as people’s favourites in the city.

Jo has painted the King of the Urban Jungle in Pounds Park and the Lioness of the Urban Wild on the Moor.

Peachzz

Internationally recognised Peachzz specialises in large-scale murals using bold colours and hints of realism, taking inspiration from the natural world. She has been part of Sheffield’s street art scene for over 10 years, but it’s some of her more recent work that has really gotten her noticed. Peachzz’s Pounds Park mural, Reverie, was voted second ‘Best Mural in the World’ (2024) by Street Art Cities, and best mural in our own Best of Street Art Sheffield poll.

Last year, Peachzz organised the Lick of Paint festival alongside fellow artist Alastair Flindall.

Peachzz has painted two sculptures for the Pride of Yorkshire. Lion Orchard can be found in Sheffield’s Orchard Square complex. Lioness Grove is in Doncaster, just outside the entrance to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park.

Zoe Genders

Zoe Genders works across paper art, murals and sculpture, from small pieces to full building-sized installations. Her style is instantly warm: bold, vibrant colour palettes drawn from the natural world, translated into graphic, abstract landscapes. Her work can be found all across the city.

You can find Zoe’s A Little Birdie Told Me outside the Steel City Stadium, close to Sheffield Arena.

Rob Lee

Rob Lee is an award winning muralist. He utilises horizontal and vertical straight lines, curved edges and 45-degree angles to create incredible abstract designs. For many of his murals, if you stand in just the right spot, they take on a new dimension. For example, he often uses a Trompe l’œil effect to make a flat surface look 3D.

Rob has painted two sculptures. OutLion on Pinstone Street in the heart of Sheffield city centre and CamoCat outside the entrance to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park.

Enso

Enso is a muralist, illustrator and tattooist, with a practice built on calligraphy and geometry. His steady hand creates incredible pieces, that despite seeming simple are formed of intricate paint strokes.

Enso’s contributions to the Pride of Yorkshire includes dreamseeker at Fitzalan Square and Supermoon outside Doncaster Dome.

Alastair Flindall

Alastair Flindall, through his Neck of the Woods Studio, takes a community-led approach. He regularly engages with local communities to help shape the art he creates in their spaces.

In 2022, Alastair created Sheffield’s first augmented reality mural in Manor Park. More recently, he collaborated with Peachzz to organise Sheffield’s first street art festival, Lick of Paint.

You will find two sculptures painted by Alastair: Anarkitty in Woodseats and Inkbeard at Sheffield’s New Era Square.

Bubba 2000

One of Sheffield’s original street artists, Bubba 2000 marked a 30 year career back in 2024. You’ll recognise his work for either his stencil pieces or text-based paste-ups. One of his most recognisable murals is his tribute to Pulp lead singer, Jarvis Cocker, in Kelham Island.

Bubba 2000’s lion sculpture, The CATPACK King can be found in the beer garden at Triple Pointing Brewery, where you’ll also find some great beers on tap.

A trail with a serious purpose

The sculptures are here to bring some extra colour to the streets of South Yorkshire. They provide a great way to get out and explore our fantastic county.

More importantly, the trail exists to raise awareness of the incredible work of Sheffield Children’s Hospital, which is 150 years old. Organised by the Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity, it is aiming to raise £2.8 million to transform the hospital’s A&E Department. The charity’s Bears of Sheffield raised £1 million back in 2021.

Once the trail ends, each lion and lioness sculpture will be auctioned off to help them reach the charity’s goal.

Get out and see it

With 300 sculptures in total, there’s lots to discover this summer. This includes 150 designed and painted by local schools and community groups.

Many artists are involved. I’ve just featured ten here, all who have a close affiliation with Sheffield’s street art scene.

The trail runs until the 8th September, so plenty of time to get out and about to find the sculptures, and some of South Yorkshire’s street art along the way.

You can help support the work of Sheffield Children’s Hospital by donating over on the official Pride of Yorkshire website.