A specially commissioned mural by up-and-coming British abstract artist Dale Lewis will form the centre-piece of the lobby of the Finsbury Park Picturehouse, which is set to open next Friday (September 17).

The new seven-screen cinema is in the £220million City North tower block development by the new entrance to Finsbury Park station in Goodwin Street and Wells Terrace.

The seven foot high mural will be the largest artwork to date of Lewis - who used to be a studio assistant to Damien Hirst - and will be his first permanent public commission in the UK.

The chain, which plays arthouse and blockbuster films, had been set to open the new branch last autumn, but it was delayed because of the pandemic, subsequent lockdowns and uncertainty in the film distribution chain.

Clare Binns, joint managing director of Picturehouse Cinemas, said: "We are all about neighbourhood cinemas in the heart of the local community and Finsbury Park is such a vibrant and exciting place for us to open our doors."