You might think that Tramlines is all about music – and you’d pretty much be right – but this year one of the city’s most highly respected urban artists is using the festival weekend to launch his new exhibition.

Kill Your Darlings is Kid Acne’s first solo exhibition in Sheffield, where he has lived and worked for the last 15 years. It opens at Millennium Gallery on July 21st, with an free launch event booked for the following evening, in conjunction with Tramlines.

As well as it being a chance for guests to see Kid Acne’s work, old and new, it will feature live music from local wonky guitar-pop trio The Heebie Jeebies, plus beer supplied by the award-winning Thornbridge Brewery.

As you’d expect from Malawi-born Kid Acne, it’ll be something quite different from your typical exhibition launch:

“The idea of having cheese and wine and inviting the suits to the exhibition, and having to give a speech – I wouldn’t really be interested in doing that. So the fact that I can have my mate’s band playing on the balcony and local beer is great.”

Kill Your Darlings will run until October 23rd and will showcase brand new work by Kid Acne alongside older pieces from throughout his career. There will be murals, sketches, sculptures, an installation and a film soundtracked by London DJ Cherrystones. Kid Acne said:

“It feels great. You should never underestimate your audience, because although I’ve done music and paintings, I’ve not always paid attention to who is interested in what I do. The fact that you are on the radar of somewhere like Millennium Gallery is great, and it’s great that they’ve asked me to have an exhibition in such a prestigious place.”

The launch night on Friday July 22nd runs from 6pm to 8pm, and will be followed by an afterparty at The Great Gatsby on Division Street. Kid Acne will also be launching Vol. 2 of his South Yorks mixtape over the Tramlines Weekend, to follow on from last year’s epic compilation of Sheffield music. It will be out as a download through Lex Records and Kid Acne’s own website.

Here’s a reminder of Vol. 1: