Six Whittington teens now have a colourful mural to be “proud of” in central Geelong, according to a young artist who coordinated their spray-painting.
Connor Firth, 20, led the youths in creating the bird-themed mural on buildings off Little Ryrie St over the Queen’s Birthday weekend.
“Now when they go into town they can say they worked on that wall and be proud,” the Highton resident said.
“They definitely wanted to learn and weren’t there to muck around at all.”
Connor, the builder’s owners and a council youth worker developed the design, featuring sulphur-crested and red-tailed black cockatoos and a pink-bellied galah.
“It had little scraps of graffiti and some damage and I think it they just thought it was time to give it a facelift,” he said.
Connor divided the mural so the youths, aged 12 to 18, each had a say in the design.
“I felt it was definitely going to be a much more creative project if they chose where to put things,” he said.
Council commissioned Connor to lead the project after he created a blue wren mural in Union St.
He described the projects as “great exposure” after completing a visual arts degree and Drysdale Rotary’s Bruno Callori Young Artist Mentorship Program.
“I can have a wall in central Geelong and brighten it up with my own ideas, although (my job as a) barista definitely pays most of the bills,” he said.
