South Bank mural celebrates nearly 40 years of women's centre

A new mural chronicling the history of a women's centre and the community around the organisation has been unveiled.

The 40ft (12m) artwork celebrating the past of the Tees Valley Women's Centre stretches along Upper Albion Street in South Bank near Middlesbrough.

The centre opened in 1987 with the aim of improving the quality of life and opportunities for women in the area.

Manager at the Tees Valley Women's Centre Donna Middleton said the mural was a "wonderful celebration" of the thousands of women who had come through the doors over the years.

She said: "This mural means an enormous amount to everyone here because it tells our story, but it has genuinely been shaped by the women themselves.

"It celebrates where we have come from, our roots here in South Bank and the women who have made the centre what it is today, but it is also about looking forward to the next chapter."

The mural will remain permanently on display across the outside of Tees Valley Women's Centre.

Local artist Jessica Leigh spent time at the centre working to find out what stories they wanted the mural to tell.

She said: "My role was to listen to their memories, ideas and experiences and find a way of bringing all of those different stories together in one piece of artwork.

"There is so much history here, both within the centre and across South Bank, and throughout the workshops you could really feel how much this place means to the women."

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