When Melbourne City Council wanted to promote the new smoke-free area on Bourke Street, they turned to Zest Events International to create an inspiring street mural.

Community consultation showed that the public was in favour of this health initiative, which is Melbourne’s eleventh open-air smoke-free place. As it includes Bourke Street Mall with its high foot traffic and out-of-town visitors, it was important for the Council to raise awareness of the change.

Zest’s ARTchitect Andi Mether and artist Ulla Taylor were commissioned to manage and produce a street mural at the Bourke Street Mall visitor information booth.

melbourne street art mural with birds, bees and plants in lungs
Zest Artist Ulla Taylor at work in Bourke Street

The street mural theme was ‘Breathe Easy’, expressed with a design that showed birds, insects and flowers thriving in a clean, human rib cage. After Ulla painted the street mural to scale, it was printed on a banner 25 times the original size. Ulla then finished the artwork on site in Bourke Street over three days from October 1st – 3rd 2019. The non-smoking area was launched on October 4th 2019.

“The Breathe Easy street mural was designed to evoke the urge to fill your lungs with air,” Ulla said.

“I used imagery imbued with the bright freshness of Melbourne springtime, which includes iconic native flora and fauna such as pink heath and a helmeted honeyeater – two of our State emblems. Art is intriguing – the manual process of creation can captivate; but also by using a range of conceptual symbology, people can overlay their own emotions or thought patterns, which can make the message more meaningful.”

While Ulla worked on the street mural, people were naturally curious and stopped to find out more. The media also took an interest, helping to publicise the Breathe Easy campaign to a wider audience. 

Monica De Angelis, Creative Adviser at Melbourne City Council, was full of praise for Zest’s street mural. “Zest Events and Ulla, the artist, were receptive to our brief and feedback, and the artwork looks amazing. The design reflected what we had requested very nicely. Ulla did an amazing job on site. She has a great energy and interacted well with people who approached her while she was working on the street mural. We will be sorry to see the artwork go come end of October.”

These art projects require careful planning to deliver the required result within the allocated timeframe and budget. That’s where Zest’s ARTchitect Andi Mether makes a real difference to the outcome. “We project manage the event from concept to completion, making sure that our clients’ objectives are delivered through the talent of our artists.”

Interested in using art as the medium for your message? Contact us!

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