Wollongong’s biggest music venue is getting a colourful face lift and paying homage to six influential Australians.
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Artist Sion Gruffydd, 34, began sketching out six large murals on the side of WIN Entertainment Centre on Monday.
The series of permanent artworks will wrap around the walls of the venue from the Illawarra Brewery to the stadium.
Spokeswoman for the venue Tara Oesterheld said the inspiration behind the project was to acknowledge and celebrate some the “awesome talent” that had performed there over its 20-year lifetime.
Each celebrity panel will be on a backdrop of a popular Illawarra headland, with beach scenes like Stanwell Park and Port Kembla.
Muses for the murals are still being finalised with artist management but some of the names that have been thrown around include John Farnham, The Wiggles and Midnight Oil – with all to be revealed in the next few weeks.
“It’s quite a process before you even get to the wall,” Gruffydd said.
The physical painting of each mural will take about the same amount of time as that which has already gone into the project with preparation and research.
The Illawarra has already been privy to Gruffyd’s public art with recognisable pieces on the side of South Sailor in Thirroul, Rad Bar in Wollongong, and the “Stay Wild” Wonderwalls mural near Jimmy’s Burger Bar in Wollongong.
The artist doesn’t expect his work to be tagged or defaced by vandals, stating he often gets commissioned for murals to ward off unwanted graffiti.
“Actually doing the artwork stops graffiti,” he said.
“As much as people don’t like to call graffiti artists ‘artists’ – they do appreciate mural art.”