A few chosen students at Melbourne Polytechnic were given some prime public/campus space on which to paint a mural. Observe:
(L-R) Evonne Goolagong Cawley; Leigh Hobbs; Gough Whitlam; Wally De Backer; Robin Boyd; Stephanie Alexander; Geoffrey Rush and Stella Young.
We actually worked with the uni and students to make this happen, with our input being ‘pop-culture’ (good effort, us 
) and them refining that down to an actual workable brief of ‘Australians Who Rule Your World’. At this point it was handed over to ‘The Dream Team’ to make it all an acrylics laden reality.
As the leader of the DT, Con Emmanuelle, said of the work: “The general consensus was that existing students and visitors to the institute will view the mural and indeed the faces of the eight selected Australians and feel inspired that they too can achieve success if they follow the same work ethos / ethic. If you work hard, preserve, stay focused and committed to the task at hand – you too can Rule Your World. The concept for the mural was therefore, largely based on a visual interpretation of our new tagline. It was easy to connect this tagline to the ‘work ethos’ exemplified by our eight – great Australians.”
To check out a time-lapse of the video being made, head HERE.
DECLAN GOUGHWIN
Career aspirations? To be a freelance illustrator in the realm of music and band art, books, poster art, technical illustration and commissions.
Why do you think public art is important? Public art is what makes the world more interesting and always stands out. The city can sometimes look like a concrete jungle at times; murals and great architecture adds life to an otherwise bland cityscape. Colour adds life and art can be appreciated by most people. It gets people talking and interacting, which is very important in this day and age! Thanks, to Con, Lisa, Anna, Ben, Warren and all at Melbourne Polytechnic and PEDESTRIAN.TV.
ANNA JENKINS
Career aspirations? Commercial and children’s book illustrator.
Why do you think public art is important? Public art makes art accessible to anyone and everyone. Art bridges language and cultural barriers and permeates the community. Murals are an outstanding way to create something inspiring for the onlooker out of something every day and ordinary like a plain brick wall. It brings colour and life when the flowers lay dormant in the winter. It creates something for children to point at and ask “what’s that mummy?” And in turn starts a conversation. A conversation that can be had with anyone who identifies with anything that the art portrays. In our case it’s peoples of Melbourne who have succeeded in their field that we have depicted. My hope is that someone looks up into their faces and thinks “that’ll be me one day.”
BEN HIGGINS
Career aspirations? Currently Illustrator of Murals, available for commission work – murals, illustrations, conceptual designs etc…
Why do you think public art is important? Public art is very important to inspire and bring life to a blank wall or empty space. It creates a landmark of artistic expression, the more the better.
Images via Mr Muppet.carbonmade.com
LISA NEWTON
Career aspirations: Painting/printmaking.
Why do you think public art is important? To capture the imagination, to inspire, to stop you in your tracks, and to make you think.
