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Graffiti artist designs anniversary front page

A newspaper has marked its first year as a weekly title after switching from a daily by allowing a well-known graffiti artist to design its front page.

The Birmingham Post changed to weekly production a year ago this week.

Now the Trinity Mirror title has broken with more than 150 years of tradition by commissioning renowned Midlands graffiti artist Arron Bird, who is known as Temper, to design the souvenir front cover for its 11 November edition.

And the Post will be running a competition for a reader to win the original artwork created by him.


Editor Alun Thorne said: “Like all good art I have no doubt that it will provoke quite a reaction.

“I can’t think of an example of this being done before but we wanted to make a statement after a successful year as a weekly print title, so we’re delighted that Temper has agreed to work with us on this project.

“While the paper has remained true to its core values of delivering the best in business, news, culture and sport to its readers, there is no doubt that the paper has had to change to remain relevant in the 21st century.

“The Post has always been about challenging perceptions and I believe this initiative does this in spades.”

Temper, who has recently finished a portrait for Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, agreed to design the front cover to coincide with the launch of his ‘Lovely People’ installation at The Cube in Birmingham.

He made his name more than a decade ago when he was the first spray artist to have his own show at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

5 comments

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  • November 11, 2010 at 11:41 am
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    Pity that this really smart-looking front page is spoiled by the excitable “Special souvenir front cover” strap.

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  • November 12, 2010 at 9:43 am
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    I like a lot of graffiti art – but this is a pile of sh*te.

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  • November 29, 2010 at 3:24 pm
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    well…what’s the portrait of Ozzy and Shazz look like? that’s what I want to know. dropping names like that without any snaps of the portrait, what’s up with that!

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