We return once more to the vibrant world of street art in North Liverpool, now in 2025, marking the third consecutive year of documenting its ever-changing concrete canvases. The echoes of the Covid-19 lockdowns that once silenced the streets have faded, and today’s spray-can artists work in an atmosphere of renewed freedom. Students are firmly back in classrooms, the rhythms of exams and daily life have resumed, and with this sense of stability comes a surge of artistic expression—louder, more colourful, and more politically charged than ever before.
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Political Slogans and Teenage Rebellion
Across Stanley Park, walls speak in red with slogans such as “Hunt Tories not Foxes” and the rebellious “Be Ungovernable.” Anarchist energy pulses through phrases like “No PHD,” rejecting academic conformity, while bold typography tags like “PEET” echo the branding of Pret a Manger, claiming ownership of urban identity.
The creativity extends into Everton and Newsham Park skateparks, where a shark fin integrates seamlessly with the ramps—an inventive play between structure and imagination. Characters, symbols, and slogans mark territory while narrating the struggles and passions of Liverpool’s youth.
Pride, Identity, and Symbolism in Spray Paint
The walls of Everton Valley shine with advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights, featuring rainbow colours, bisexual pride themes, and a striking figure blending male and female forms. Alongside these stand playful bunnies, buzzing bees, and spider webs. Bright hues dominate this year’s murals, reflecting optimism after years of monotone walls during the pandemic.
Death remains a recurring motif, with skulls etched across concrete, symbolizing both youthful reflection on mortality and the dangerous realities of life in the city.
The “No More Knives” Tribute to Ava White
The most powerful piece is found at Everton skatepark: a striking “No More Knives” mural, accompanied by the words “RIP Ava White.”
Ava White, a 12-year-old schoolgirl, tragically lost her life in November 2021 after being fatally stabbed during Liverpool’s Christmas lights switch-on. Her attacker, just 15 years old, was later sentenced to 13 years in prison. The tribute mural stands as a raw, visual reminder of the city’s ongoing struggle with knife crime, calling for change and demanding that no other child suffer the same fate.
The Recurrent Bee: Hope or Warning?
One of the most intriguing symbols is the bumblebee, which appears repeatedly across Everton Valley. In neighbouring Manchester, the bee became a symbol of resilience following the 2017 Arena bombing that claimed 22 lives. In Liverpool, its presence could carry multiple meanings:
- A borrowed symbol of hope and unity crossing the M62.
- A reminder of the ecological importance of pollinators in a city where green spaces are being replaced by concrete.
- A metaphor for being “trapped in a spider’s web,” suggesting the challenges of gang culture or entrapment in cycles of poverty and crime.
The imagery remains deliberately ambiguous, inviting interpretation.
Food Poverty and Community Struggles
Not all murals are abstract. One features a character with arms outstretched, proclaiming the word “Eat.” This becomes especially poignant in a city where food poverty is a pressing issue.
- 60% of Liverpool’s children live in wards ranked among the poorest 10% nationally.
- 30% rely on free school meals.
- 1 in 4 children are officially classed as living in poverty.
The removal of the £20 Universal Credit uplift, combined with rising food prices and stagnant wages, has pushed many families into crisis. Food banks across North Liverpool, supported by groups like St George’s Church Pantry, The Food Union, and the L6 Community Association, are working tirelessly to meet demand—but donations are falling as shopping habits shift.
This mural is more than art. It is activism, a direct commentary on the hunger shaping the lives of Liverpool’s youth.
Colour, Hope, and the Future of North Liverpool Street Art
What unites all the graffiti this year is colour—vibrant, striking, and unapologetically bold. Where once the walls were dominated by greys and blacks, today they pulse with optimism.
From bees to spider webs, from political slogans to heartfelt memorials, the street art of North Liverpool captures not only the voices of its youth but also the struggles of a community facing poverty, violence, and social change.
Perhaps the legacy of these works lies not only in their artistic merit but in their messages. From food poverty to LGBTQ+ rights, from ecological symbolism to the haunting cry of “No More Knives,” the spray-painted walls remind us that street art is more than rebellion—it is a canvas of resistance, remembrance, and resilience.
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