'Mural is a living tribute to inspirational individuals!'

THIS Saturday marks 36,625 days since Stoke-on-Trent, 'a place that has such a great artistic and industrial mix of talent and fortitude' was granted city status by royal decree.

- Paul Willliams - Board member and director of place marketing, Stoke-on-Trent City Centre BID

When King George V surprised an excited crowd gathered in the King’s Hall on 5 June 1925 by consenting to the request to confer the honorific mark of distinction in recognition of our importance as a global centre of ceramics, who could have imagined a century later Stoke-on-Trent would stand as a testament to industrial excellence, creativity and innovation, resilience and community spirit.

Which is why on Saturday a stand out public art installation charting a fascinating journey through our recently designated world craft city’s history over the past 100 years will be unveiled.

Commissioned and funded by Stoke-on-Trent City Centre Business Improvement District (BID), the vibrant '100 Years, 100 Faces' mural tells the interconnected stories of a city told by people who were born and rooted in clay alongside those who have strong affiliations with the Potteries.

As accessible, aesthetic works of art, murals have narrative, decorative and commemorative functions and have become increasingly prominent placemaking features injecting colour and life across the city region’s landscape. They are also barometers of cultural and social life.