Huddersfield is celebrating its lions with some brilliant new public artwork on show in St George’s Square.

Buildings in and around Huddersfield town centre are decorated with almost 200 lion sculptures and an art and photography project, The Joy of the Roar, has just added a whole lot more!

The Joy of the Roar, part of Historic England’s High Street Heritage Action Zone programme, has seen over 100 people involved in 16 workshops.

People have made striking paper lion masks, modelling them in three studio shoots to produce a collection of 40 vibrant and unique portraits.

These beautiful images are on display as a pop-up outdoor gallery on hoardings, bus shelters and in shop windows around St George’s Square.

The main focus of the exhibition will be Station Street, where large-scale images will line the street.

Photographer Laura Mateescu and architectural historian Christopher Marsden, both with a passion for heritage, devised the project to encourage people to reflect on the close relationship between Huddersfield and the symbol of the lion, which also represents agility, strength, fierceness, courage, leadership and community pride.

The project aims to promote health and well-being through arts and physical activity.

David Shepherd, Kirklees Council’s strategic director for growth and regeneration, said: “This project is a great way for people to explore the significance of lions in our town.

“The project led by Chris and Laura takes a fresh look at the symbolism and displays it in an innovative way.”

Craig Broadwith, from Historic England, said: “This is a fantastic fun and engaging way to involve local people in the heritage of their town and spark questions about the significance of the lion as a symbol to the people of Huddersfield.

“It’s great to see the breadth of cultural activity that’s being generated through the Cultural Programme for the Huddersfield High Street Heritage Action Zone.

“The aim of the programme is to help make the area a more attractive, engaging and vibrant place for people to live, work and spend time.”

The Joy of the Roar project would like to give thanks for support to Historic England, Arts Council England, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Kirklees Council, Temporary Contemporary, Bargain Box (UK) Ltd, Arcade Coffee & Food, HixFix, Calder Art Supplies, Clear Channel UK, Queensgate Ironmongers, Woodfield Enterprises Ltd and Sovereign Sports of Marsh.

Partners include Active Bodies, Arcade Beers Running Club, The Basement Recovery Project, Hive Café, Piazza Centre, Platform One, S2R and the University of Huddersfield. Club balls courtesy of Huddersfield Giants RL and Huddersfield Town FC.