Officials have apologised after the artist behind the Eric Irons mural in the city said she did not receive an invite to the unveiling of the stunning artwork.
The mural of the late Mr Irons, the first black magistrate in Britain who campaigned for equal rights, was unveiled on the Carrington Street Bridge last week. Mr Irons' family were in attendance.
However, Nottingham-based Honey Williams, who is behind the artwork, took to Twitter to say she didn't receive an invitation to the mural's unveiling. She also said the artwork had been unveiled, despite it not having been finished.
However, officials at The Nottingham Project, which is coordinating street art around the city, apologised, saying there had been "a miscommunication" and a "mistake".
In a statement, the group said: “We were proud to unveil the iconic mural of Eric Irons OBE by the hugely talented artist Honey Williams.
“However, due to a miscommunication, Honey Williams did not receive her invitation to attend the unveiling event with Eric Irons’ family on 4th October. This was a mistake and the Nottingham Project has met with Honey in-person to apologise.
“We have also apologised to Honey for proceeding with the unveiling before the mural was fully finished.
“We will do everything we can to ensure the mural is completed in the next two weeks (weather permitting) and we would like to come back together to celebrate that moment.
“We will update you all when that will be and invite you along.
“Honey, we are sorry. We hope we can rebuild your trust in The Nottingham Project”.
Reiss Mallet, an independent artist liaison working on the Street Art Project, added: “We deeply regret that a miscommunication lead to Honey not being present at the unveiling of her brilliant work.
“It is especially sad as the occasion was all about celebrating Nottingham as an inclusive city and community.
“We wouldn’t like to see this error overshadow this fact and the positive values embodied by Eric Irons and his wonderful mural."
Prior to the statements, Ms Williams said on Twitter that she had been left feeling “erased” and “humiliated” after not receiving an invite.
She said: “I felt erased by the lack of invite… And humiliated by the hyper visibility of my unfinished work."
Mr Irons was a “determined” campaigner for equal rights and settled in Nottingham after leaving Jamaica. He passed away in 2007.
It was reported last week that additional text would be added to the mural because rain prevented artists from finishing it before the unveiling.
