A STRIKING new mural on Leeds Road will provide a colourful welcome to people coming into the city centre.

The art piece has been commissioned by the Bradford 2025 City of Culture team, and features a landscape filled with numerous iconic Bradford buildings, including the Alhambra Theatre the mirror pool.

It also features several people in the image, posing as if they are taking photos down Leeds Road using their smart phones.

The artists behind the work hope it becomes a popular “Instagramable” spot for both locals and visitors to the city to pose in front of.

3D Joe and Max, a team that have painted 3D street art across the world, began work on the mural, on large blank side of a terraced row on the corner of Buck Street, earlier this week. It was completed yesterday.

The artists used a technique known as Trompe-l’œil, where images on flat surfaces are made to appear 3D. With this piece the technique is used to give the impression that a huge hole has been created in the side of the building, exposing a fantastical view of a Bradford landscape, including rolling moors and terraced mill homes, and people who seem as surprised to be looking out of the image as passers by are when they first glimpse it.

The Bradford 2025 bid is a push for the District to be named the next City of Culture.

Joe Hill, one of the artists who created the image, said: “There are lots of landmarks in there, including the Alhambra and some of the city’s religious buildings.

Colourful mural for Bradford City of Culture bid

“We hope that people that come by stop and take photos of the art.

“We’ve used a technique called Trompe-l’œil, so if you’re coming at it from this direction (Leeds Road towards the city centre) it looks like you can walk into another world.”

May McQuade, Programme Coordinator at Bradford 2025 said: “This incredible new work by 3D Joe and Max is part of a programme of street art which has animated Bradford over the last six months, bringing colour and creativity to streets across the district from Keighley to the city centre. The whole process has been a collaborative approach; we want this work to be a celebration of Bradford and its people, so the input of local creatives has been vital throughout. This particular piece has been co-commissioned by a focus group of business owners; faith leaders of the Hindu temple, Gurdwara, cathedral and mosque; young people from Bradford Youth Service and residents of Leeds Road, so it has been a real collective effort with local people right at the heart. I hope the work will bring joy to everyone who sees it.”

Shummel Uddin from Neighbourhood Resource centre: “For me this mural represents the multicultural diversity in Bradford, the places of worship, the food we eat. Also the bond that people have to each other and to the place. The mirror pool and heather on the moors in the picture show the peaceful places in the district and it’s a bit surreal which makes it fun. We hope lots of people come and take selfies here.”

The mural is on a building owned by Javid Sheikh, owner of Alibaba carpet shop. He said: “The Leeds Road area needed to get a little bit more life and colour. It’s awesome how they’ve brought it to life.”