The Lobby Powered by Sky Broadband Celebrates Women in Gaming with Winning Mural Design
Mélaine visiting her mural at the Sky Guild Gaming Centre in Shoreditch, London
Mélaine Virot's anime-style design featuring women gamers is on display at Sky Guild Gaming Centre on Shoreditch High Street.
Guild Gaming is pleased to announce that Mélaine Virot has won its mural competition, a key component of The Lobby Powered by Sky Broadband initiative. The Bristol-based artist’s winning design has been emblazoned on the front of the Sky Guild Gaming Centre, located opposite Shoreditch High Street station in London.
Mélaine, 31, takes home £2,000 for her winning design and has been added to Guild's roster of freelance creatives. Her anime-style design celebrates women in gaming, featuring female gamers alongside their game character counterparts, complete with a role wheel and player health bars.
The competition also rewarded highly commended winners Emily Walton and Kimberley Uguru, who each received £500 for their submissions.
Selection Process
The winners were decided by a panel featuring women from various sectors of the gaming sector including representatives from Sky and Guild, gaming creator Talia Mar and Anime & Chill co-founder Eneni Bambara-Abban.
Mélaine’s design features women players and characters, a role wheel and health bars
Competition winner Mélaine Virot said: “I feel incredibly happy to have won the competition, it really feels like my efforts and my message have been recognised and seen. My family, friends, and work team all congratulated me and shared how proud they were. They even told me not to be too humble about it!
“I wanted to show that gaming is a space where women can fully express themselves, their personalities and their subtlety. That’s why I designed each character to be expressive and to play different games, I even drew a gaming radial menu to show them taking the lead and being active while playing. It's about daring to bloom and take up space.”
Merika Vine, Head of Partnerships at Guild Gaming said: “We’re thrilled to have Mélaine’s design grace the mural here at the Sky Guild Gaming Centre. The Lobby Powered by Sky Broadband has been about bringing together and celebrating the women in the gaming community, and her design really encapsulates that message.”
About The Lobby Powered by Sky Broadband
The Lobby serves as a dedicated destination for the women in gaming community across the UK, offering multiple pathways for engagement and growth within the gaming ecosystem.
Mélaine’s original design submission, with the template provided by Global Street Art
The programme features three distinct components:
The Lobby League provides competitive tournaments with a substantial £50,000 prize pool distributed across four game titles, giving women gamers the opportunity to compete at the highest level.
The Lobby Live hosts live, in-person events for the community at the Sky Guild Gaming Centre, creating opportunities for face-to-face connection and networking within the women's gaming community.
The Lobby Studio offers aspiring creators access to professional streaming facilities and cutting-edge technology, supporting the next generation of women content creators in gaming.
Upcoming Events
The Lobby continues with several key events this month. The final Lobby Live event takes place on Thursday, 31 July, marking the culmination of the in-person community gatherings.
Gaming competition continues with online qualifiers for the final Lobby League tournament on Marvel Rivals scheduled for Saturday, 26 July, leading to the online final on Saturday, 9 August.
For aspiring creators, Guild is hosting a Lobby Studio Masterclass on Thursday, 17 July, featuring some of the UK's most successful women creators. This intensive half-day experience is designed to support those looking to supercharge their creator journey.
For more information, head to guildesports.com/womeningaming.
