Art salute to football heroes who have made their mark

THE city's National Football Museum has unveiled a new exhibition featuring work from Manchester-based artists honouring nine heroes from the world of football.

- ADAM MAIDMENT

Including works based around the likes of David Backham, Eric Cantona, Justin Fashanu, Raheem Sterling, Mary Phillips and the world's first transgender referee Lucy Clark, the MARKERS exhibition aims to explore how each of the sporting heroes have taken on calls to action and completed worthy missions both on and off the pitch.

The exhibition, which officially opens to the public on Friday, will explore themes of LGBTQ+ rights, immigration, women's football and ethnic minorities through each of the nine pieces of work. The artworks, which also include depictions of Lionel Messi, Ji Sung Park and City supporter Pete The Badge, have been created by Akse P19, Mark Kennedy, Stanley Cow, Cbloxx, Billy Colours, Zem Clarke, Folie Art and Design and JJ Guest.

Each artist was tasked with making something that spoke to their chosen figure's values.