Local artist creates ‘Free Palestine’ mural on Peterborough home

The mural has been painted on the side of a property of Bridge Street by Waqar Akhtar, with the assistance of Avy Hussain.

They said the aim of the artwork is to draw attention to the ‘plight of the oppressed Palestinian people in the occupied state’.

The artwork has been created following a recent protest in Cathedral Sqaure when an estimated 1500 people attended a ‘Free Palestine’ demonstration on May 22.

Suleman Hussain, one of the demonstration’s organisers, said: “We would like to thank Israr Hussain for giving us permission to use his house to carry out this great artwork.

“We decided to do this on one of the busiest junctions in Peterborough as we don’t want people to forget the oppression which the Palestinians are facing. This has caught a lot of attention in Peterborough.

“It has inspired many young children who have been talking about it in schools. It has motivated them to do well in art. We were contacted by one of the parents, Shabana Bi, who requested if some of the children could go in a group to see the art and meet artist Waqar Akhtar.

“The children really enjoyed their trip. One of them named Rehaan said “I want to be an artist as well, this is so cool”. It was great to see this has encouraged many young children.”