Client: Victoria O'Shea, Place Activation Lead, Kingston City Council

Overview

Wall to Wall Festival Mordi Village, delivered in partnership with award-winning street art collective Juddy Roller, Kingston City Council and local businesses, saw the installation of 11 murals in the Mordialloc Industrial Precinct across the weekend of the 26-28 of April 2024.

Local and international artists featured included George Rose, Adnate, Smug, Blo, Fred Battler (Zoer), Justine McAllister, Filthy Ratbag, Tommy Day, Drez, Jason Parker and Mordi Village local – Kyle Brightside, who activated 10 walls and an abandoned van in front of enthusiastic crowds of onlookers.

With the support of traders, thousands of visitors flocked to the precinct to enjoy world class murals, live DJ sets, market stalls, open studios, painting workshops, guided street art tours, and gourmet food and beverages across the launch weekend.

These public artworks have served as part of a wider urban revitalisation program. The Kingston Council’s Business team is continuing to track the tangible social and economic legacy of ‘Wall to Wall’ over the coming months as audiences return to revisit their favourite artworks, and newly discovered makers and producers within Mordi Village.

Goals

Precinct Branding - Strengthen a unique and creative place identity and wider ownership of Mordi Village through artist led engagement with residents and traders.

Visitation - Increase local and cultural tourism to the area (footfall), and in turn stimulate economic return to local traders and catalyse future investment.

Shared Visioning - Foster trader to trader connectivity, and collective precinct visioning for Mordi Village.

Aesthetics Improvements- Improve the look and feel of streetscapes through the addition of meaningful, engaging, site-specific artworks.

Lasting legacy - Create self-guided world class street art walking tour for visitors, schools and the wider community.

Process

Over the last 18 months, Kingston Business team has worked closely with property owners and traders within the Mordialloc Industrial Precinct to foster future visioning, strengthening business to business connectivity, and place making activations. This engagement included the development of a trader initiative to see the installation of a mural project to strengthen place identity, spear head urban renewal and support economic development.

In July 2023, an expression of interest was advertised to appoint a project manager to oversee the end-to-end delivery. In September 2023, Juddy Roller, led by creative director Shaun Hossack, was awarded the tender. Over the next seven months, Juddy Roller worked alongside Council to consult and collaborate with precinct businesses, property owners and community members through the curation of site-specific murals. The artworks would be delivered across a festival launch event, to support local traders and celebrate world class street art, attracting substantial crowds to the area in the last weekend in April.

The strong partnerships this public art project has fostered, through its collaborative approach and delivery, is a testament to the success of creative placemaking approaches in uniting a diverse portfolio of stakeholders.

Additional Information

Post Event Wrap Up: Through the power of world class murals and community connectivity, the festival boosted the local economy and strengthened place identity, attracting crowds of over 8,000 across the 26-28th of April. The festival had a diverse appeal with strong participation in the guided street art tours and onsite creative workshops. The total media coverage reach exceeded over 36 million people, and achieved 276,000 Instagram impressions, and 144,000-reel views. The festival also featured on the Channel Ten News, Broadsheet and The Age. 98% of all those surveyed were ‘very satisfied’ or ‘satisfied’ with the event, providing the following feedback anecdotes: • “Please do this every year it was incredible” • “It was a really fantastic community event. Brilliant initiative in a lively spot in the suburbs. Love seeing top quality art in our area instead of having to go to the CBD” • “I honestly think it’s the best event Kingston has hosted.” • “It was brilliant. Made us even more proud of the suburb we live in.” • “Amazing event, new to Mordi and didn’t know about the Village! Buzzing community spirit and atmosphere coupled with fantastic artists, food and beverage. Can’t wait for next year!” • “Loved it. So nice to see an investment in culture"