We reconvene with Architect-turned-Artist Yusef Arjo, the man behind Art by Arjo, who is showcasing his work in Victoria Quarter until the end of the month.
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00:00The great thing about having the pop-up here for the month is that you get to meet people,
00:04see their reaction, get a feel for what people would like to see more of or what you haven't
00:09drawn and what they're looking for.
00:11Back in 2019, architect turned artist Yusuf was just starting to progress his Art by R.
00:17Joe venture.
00:18Five years later, his ever-expanding catalogue of art has attracted fans from around the
00:22world and he's showcasing his works in Victoria Quarter, part of Victoria Leeds.
00:28It started off as a bit of a side project that I was doing sort of commission-based
00:32work for different people who were getting in touch through Instagram, things like that.
00:37All based still around, let's say, house commissions or wedding venues or different iconic architecture.
00:44And over the time, that's sort of changed in a way.
00:46It's sort of more become now me, got a growing catalogue of maybe two, three hundred pieces
00:52and then I'm taking on maybe one or two commissions a month.
00:54Each piece tends to take about 15 to 20 hours to do, all hand-drawn using like fineliners
00:59and pro marker pens.
01:01Yusuf's key themes include football stadiums, cityscapes, famous landmarks and iconic buildings.
01:08It's been great to come here in my hometown and kind of get that reaction and see what
01:12people are after, especially on the local landmarks.
01:14It's great to see like people saying like, oh, the town or I got married there or Temple
01:18Newsome, I go there on the weekends with my dog and stuff, things like that.
01:22It's been great to see.
01:23I love the history of historical architecture of Leeds.
01:27Leeds itself, again, is changing so rapidly at the minute.
01:31There's loads more sky rise going up.
01:32I'd say there seems to be a new crane in the city every other week now.
01:36And I can't, you know, I don't live in the city centre anymore.
01:38So coming in, you're always noticing something new going up.
01:41I'm here till the 30th of June showcasing my artwork in Victoria, Leeds in the Victoria
01:46Quarter.
01:47This is the first of hopefully many.
01:49This is a new design for the pop-up that I've created with a friend of mine.
01:53And so hoping to, if this goes well in the future, take this to different locations in
01:58different cities around the UK.