The Making of Will Rea's Orchard Square Mural

Over the winter months, Sheffield resident and artist Will Rea was hard at work on a new 50 metre wide and three-storey high mural on the upper level of Orchard Square. During those months, Will had to contend with hale, wind and rain and even continued painting during the dark hours. He finished his massive new artwork shortly before the country went into lockdown and the gates to the square closed for three months; his work hidden away from the public it was intended for.

With non-essential stores reopening this week, the gates to Orchard Square have once more opened and Will’s colourful mural can finally be seen in all its glory again.

Film maker Andrew Bainbridge, a friend of the artist’s, captured Will putting together his Orchard Square piece on camera. Andrew has spent some of his lockdown time to put together a ‘making of’ video showing the artist painting the walls of the open-air shopping centre. This short video has now been made available for all to see.

It’s great to see Will at work on his mural with his helpers. As life slowly begins to return to some form of normality, and people return to the city centre, his artwork will finally get seen by those it was created for. Hopefully, this won’t be Will’s last mural in Sheffield (perhaps the weather will be kinder to him next time).