DIVERSITY and equality were in the frame as more than 300 portraits went on display in the city centre.

The photographs, drawings and paintings were hung from wires on a concrete wall in Piccadilly Gardens to mark the finale of the Celebr8 (Don't Discrimin8) Festival.

Organisers collected images of people from across the north west to create the Big Picture: Equal But Different.

The display is the last in a series of 25 festival events in the region over eight days.

The annual festival highlights the positive impact eight diverse communities - race, gender, sexuality, disability, age, transgender, faith and refugees - has on the cultural life and economy of the region.

A variety of faces were interpreted in children's felt tip drawings, family photographs, chalk, charcoal and even a multi-coloured Andy Warhol-style painting.

The youngest portrait was a photograph of a day-old baby girl and there were people from almost all of the world's nations. Passers-by could sketch their own self portrait and add it to the wall, or have Merseyside-based artist Joshua Jackson paint them in oil pastels.

Joshua, 22, said: "People's reactions have been very positive. It's quite a fun thing to have your portrait done and this display shows the great variety of people which make up a community."



Tweet