BELCONNEN COMMUNITY CENTRE MURAL

 

<See photos from the launch on April 26th 2007>

 

The Belconnen Community Mural is sure to get plenty of approval from residents – after all, they designed it!

 

The project began last year as a proposal to repaint the three murals on the front of Belconnen Community Centre as part of marking the 40th birthday of Belconnen. 4 community artists have been engaged to work on the mural designs. They are Phil Nizette, Nasser Palangi, Duncan Smith, and Kurt Laurenson. All four have had extensive experience in producing public and community based art works, and have long term established links to Belconnen and the Community Centre.

 

 

Composite design mock up as exhibited at Belconnen Gallery

 

 

There are 4 stages to the project:

Stage 1 - artists run workshops with the community, leading to draft designs – CLICK TO SEE PHOTOS

 

Stage 2 – the designs are presented for public comment

 

Stage 3 – panels are painted by the artists with community assistance – CLICK TO SEE PHOTOS

 

Stage 4 – mounting of the panels on BCC and launch – CLICK TO SEE PHOTOS

 

Chief Minister John Stanhope introduced the artists and the process at the Belconnen Festival launch on 26 October, 2006. The artists then worked with 120 community members in 13 different workshop groups to develop designs, concepts, photographs, and drawings. The designs have now been put into a composite image, giving an impression of how it will look on the wall at Belconnen Community Centre.

 

The painting and mounting of the panels commenced in early 2007, and the whole mural is expected to be completed by Easter. Belconnen Community Centre is delighted with the input from the community so far, and invite comment on the design drawing. Community members are also welcome and to participate in the painting of the murals. Please contact Jan the Community Arts and Culture worker at BCC to find out more.

 

Thanks especially to the ACT Government, which has given great support so far to the mural.

 

 

 

About the artists

 

Nasser Palangi

Nasser Palangi established a career in painting from 1977 to 1988. Alongside his

career as a painter, he also developed an interest in mural paintings, and during the

Iran and Iraq war, he created the still-standing mural in the war-torn city of

Khorramshahr from 1981 to 1982. In 2001, Nasser moved to Australia, where he

started to develop mural painting projects through workshops, and engaging diverse

communities. In 2003, he was commissioned by the Migrant Resource Centre to

create a mural for the Wooden Bus Interchange with the subject of "Building Unity",

and later working on the Weston Creek Art Wall in 2005. Throughout his 25-year

career as a professional artist, Nasser has been involved with different public art

projects such as mural paintings, sculptures, and installations.

 

Duncan Smith

Duncan Smith was born in the Central West of NSW in Wiradjuri country. He was

taught to paint by his family. In the late eighties he moved to Canberra, earning a

living through lots of ways. Two years ago he decided to integrate his love for

Aboriginal art into his work, and eventually made a breakthrough painting a mural

for Narrabundah primary. Now he runs an Aboriginal Consultancy Business, called

Wiradjuri Echo. He goes to all members of the Aboriginal community and teaches

them art, dance and culture. He has travelled all over NSW and hopes to work

Nationally one day.

 

Philip Nizette

Philip Nizette is a local community artist who works in partnership with Jennifer

Jones as Wellspring Environmental Arts & Design. This year they created large

sculptures for the Hue Festival in June 2006. The project, ‘Two Dragons Playing with

the Lotus’, was enthusiastically welcomed by the Hue Festival Organising Committee

and encouraged by the Australian Embassy in Hanoi. Wellspring has wide experience

making large sculptural artworks for public places in Australia such as town squares,

parks, shopping centres and public buildings. The designs always consider the needs

and interests of the nearby residents, other audience members, and the existing

location and conditions. In this way, their artworks are always appropriate for the

place.

 

Kurt Laurenson

Kurt Laurenson has worked extensively around Canberra with graffiti and spray art,

and his pieces are highly visible in the city. In addition to his own work he has led

and collaborated with many other projects and artists, and was responsible for the

original designs on the three BCC mural panels.