New Artwork Places Female-Friendly Sport in the Spotlight
Published on 16 April 2024
New Artwork Places Female-Friendly Sport in the Spotlight at Central Park in Stawell
A freshly painted artwork has transformed the back wall of the Central Park Clubrooms in Stawell, with well-known Australian artist duo MCRT Studio seen hard at work on the double-story figurative collage over the past week.
The huge public mural was designed with community stakeholders during the engagement stage of a broader female-friendly clubroom redevelopment at the Central Park facility.
The large-scale figurative mural puts the focus on female participation in sport as well as fair access, and gender equity, lighting up the once dark traffic thoroughfare between the busy Stawell V/Line Station and the park’s Napier Street access gate.
The theme of the work aligns with the Northern Grampians Shire Council-led initiative to support the creative economy and fits nicely into the high standard of art that can be seen along the region’s legendary Silo Art Trail, a showcase of Australian art that begins in St Arnaud before snaking out along the scenic roads of Western Victoria.
The Stawell Athletics Clubroom wall transformed into a drive-by worthy work of art in a few short days, with the work gaining lots of positive attention with school holiday traffic and streams of curious locals slowing down to document the artists in action.
Northern Grampians Shire Mayor, Cr Rob Haswell, said that he is pleased to see that the content of the mural fits the brief well, noting that the council’s drive to increase the amount of public artwork on show across the Northern Grampians is progressing well.
“In this area, family and community unite through sport and at their local club grounds. The sport-focused mural idea was workshopped during the engagement phase of the Central Park Clubrooms upgrade, with the community raising the idea that art would be terrific way to support and inspire, delivering a positive and balanced message to the community in a very public space,” Mayor Haswell said.
“It’s fantastic to see a positive visual message up on the wall at such an iconic ground. Sporting history is central to this country and positivity and balance are both integral to regional sport. Not only is this mural a brilliant new addition to map out as you drive along the Northern Grampians tourist route, the artwork is lit up at night, improving visibility along what was once a dark road,” he added.
Emphasising that collaborating with local artists on public art projects can strengthen ties with the community, Brisbane artist duo Maxim Chikanchi and Rozelle Tan worked with local community stakeholders in Stawell to add personal experience to the finished artwork design, employing collage elements to convey the visual narrative instigated by locals. The MCRT.Studio collective body of work has exhibited at locations worldwide and includes murals, installations, and art pieces.
In this instance, the artists used their personal perspective of the world around them, referencing the ideas workshopped as part of the project and wove those into shape using their unique visual identity.
“We are thoroughly enjoying our return to Stawell to paint this mural for Central Park. It was a combined effort with community members and local kids to create this design using inspiration from the town’s history and local florals, and we are just ecstatic to paint the result of this collaboration,” said artist Rozelle Tan, on behalf of @MCRT.Studio.
For further information contact:
Media & Communications – Lauren Shipman
E-mail: lauren.shipman@ngshire.vic.gov.au