By VICTORIA STONE-MEADOWS
YARRA Ranges Mayor Jason Callanan is looking for two talented artists ages 12-25 to change how the mayor’s office looks.
Cr Callanan is seeking local young artists to submit designs for murals to cover two of the walls in his office.
“I want some cool art to be put on walls, to mix it up here in this office because it’s a bit plain,” he said.
The two mural designs will need to cover one wall 1.8m wide by 2.4m high and another wall 2m wide by 2.4m high.
While the design brief says the murals should reflect the Yarra Ranges, Cr Callanan is looking for more than just paintings of trees.
“It’s up to the kids what they want to put up but I’m looking for something that’s edgy, that’s funky and that’s fun,” he said.
“I want something that identifies young people of the shire and I want them to be imaginative in what they want to put up there.”
The two artists who are picked to paint the murals will each receive a $100 Chirnside Park Shopping Centre voucher.
The plan received some back-lash on social media with some local people upset established local artists were not chosen to paint the murals.
Cr Callanan said running this competition was the best way to give all artists an equal opportunity to get the job.
“We wanted to give people an equal chance rather than council just choosing two people to paint,” he said.
“We could have gone away and just picked two artists to do it but there might be someone out there who might have something very different that we don’t know about.
“We might even unearth a few young artists too who might not have considered doing something like this.”
Entries for the mural competition will be accepted until Friday 17 June and the winning designs selected in the week starting Monday 20 June.
Entries into the competition can be submitted online via www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Lists/Latest-news/Mayors-Mural
