ARTISTS taking part in this year’s Big Picture Fest have contributed another 13 huge murals to Frankston’s growing portfolio of street art.
There are now 56 murals up across the Frankston municipality. The number has been growing since the Big Picture Fest first began five years ago.
One of the artists who worked on a mural this year was Jessica Kease, also known as 23rd Key. She said that being in the company of other artists at the festival had helped her through the artistic process. “Being around other creatives brings you a different source of inspiration. I love painting at festivals. You’ve got a bunch of friends doing it at the same time, you’re affected by the same elements and you’re all in it together,” she said.
Ms Kease said that her Frankston mural is ”based around what’s happening in the world at the moment like climate change. I’m usually known for painting a lot of large scale floral photo realism pieces. I’ve been especially asked to do those over the past couple of years. People want to be uplifted and it’s nice to show the lighter side of things. With this piece I wanted to show something that was more of a stark contrast, including featuring lots of things we love and things we enjoy but could lose.”
Frankston mayor Nathan Conroy has welcomed the new artworks, which include four augmented reality pieces. “Our street art is garnering attention nationally and the new pieces created by the 16 artists who participated this year have added even more colour and life to Frankston’s city centre,” he said. “Frankston City recently won gold in the 2021 Australian Street Art Awards for best street art tour and the new murals continue to transform our city into a vibrant destination for events, arts and culture.”
The Block Party event held during the Big Picture Fest was attended by around 1500 people.