Educated Vandals street art exhibition raises £11k for York Mind

The Educated Vandals event by street artist group Bombsquad transformed two floors of the Low Ousegate building and its stairwell in July.

Bombsquad has now revealed that the exhibition raised £11,940 for mental health charity York Mind.

The exhibition raised £11,940 for York Mind (Image: James Drury)

Money raised came from a percentage of the art sales, cash donations during the event, online donations via the Just Giving page and money raised from the online art auction hosted by Tennants Auctioneers.

A spokesperson for Bombsquad said the group was “over the moon” with the amount raised.

“Bombsquad are absolutely over the moon with the result and we just want to say a huge thank you to all the hundreds of visitors we had over the three weekends, the local businesses who supported us and to all the artists involved,” they said.

Inside Educated Vandals by Bombsquad (Image: James Drury)

“The support and positivity during the event was amazing.  Our aim was to not only raise funds for York Mind but to also raise awareness of mental health, we definitely achieved that and more.

“The monkey and crocodile on the roof of the event building did cause a bit of controversy prior to the event opening so we thought it appropriate to feature them with the cheque.”

The exhibition filled the empty building with art (Image: James Drury)

As reported by The Press, artists at the event came from across York and the UK.

They turned the office block into a vibrant space filled with colourful murals.

After the event opened, one of the artists, Sharon McDonagh, said: “I think (people) have been a bit blown away – a lot of people haven’t seen street art, so to have so much street art in one place is great.

Sharon McDonagh with one of her pieces at the exhibition (Image: Dylan Connell)

“The whole point of this is to bring the community, charities and street artists together. been transformed for the exhibition.

“It’s been fantastic with how much support we have received.”

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Another of the artists featured in the event was Michael Dawson.

At the event, he said: “I think it’s dazzling, astonishing, energetic.

“It’s injected into York a creative shot in the arm.”

Describing the idea behind the event, a Bombsquad spokesperson previously said: “We believe that art has the power to unite and transform lives.

“The Educated Vandals event is a powerful creative platform to raise awareness about mental health while providing an opportunity for artists to share their talent with the world.”

Inside Educated Vandals by Bombsquad (Image: James Drury)

The artwork is to remain at the building in Low Ousegate until it is turned into flats.

Educated Vandals followed an exhibition last year by Bombsquad when the group raised £20,000 for York Food Bank.

More information about Bomb Squad can be found on the group’s Instagram page (@bombsquad.uk).