22 Bees

On the 22nd May 2017 Manchester Arena was targeted by terrorists. Twenty-two people cruelly lost their lives in the attack and 250 people were injured. In response to the attack many artists took to the streets of Manchester and painted murals of worker bees, the symbol of the city, as a mark of solidarity.

Local mural artist Russ Mehan, also known as Qubek, painted a bee surrounded by two hands forming the shape of a heart on one of the blocks at Stevenson Square. This lead to him being commissioned by the Manchester Evening News to paint a giant mural on the side of the Koffee Pot building as a tribute to those who died in the attack. Each of the 22 bees on the mural represent one of the innocent lives lost on that horrific evening,