In November 2018, Art Pharmacy Consulting was engaged by the Hawkesbury City Council to bring central Windsor to life with murals along the George Street mall as part of an exciting Windsor Mall mural project. This project aimed to revitalise the town centre for residents and businesses, bringing colour and vibrancy to the community.
As part of this project, the Art Pharmacy Consulting team engaged local community members in a publicly open meeting to discuss what they would like to see preserved, enhanced, or addressed during this project.Community consultation was key to this project. Art Pharmacy Consulting set up a mailing list to keep the community updated, and collect feedback or any other relevant information that would help aid the project, properly reflecting the local values and needs. This page was also set up as a way to keep the community informed.We built up a database of local artists to put forward as candidates for two sites volunteered by local resident and landlord, Darren Pead – Guy Stuff and Lollies N’ Stuff.Using information received from residents, as well as our own research and knowledge, we formed a public art narrative for the Windsor Mall and the wider Hawkesbury area. The final mural design needed to incorporate the narrative “Beauty and Abundance”. It was important to honor the deep and rich heritage of the area, spanning back thousands of years, but also to recognise the new, fresh life filling the Hawkesbury, drawing a connection between the two and reflecting the modern, contemporary lifestyle that exists in this beautiful rural setting.
Windsor and the surrounds is affectionately known as “The Fruit Bowl” of Sydney, due to the fertile river banks that attracted the Darug people, and the fresh food produce that once saved a starving colony. It was important to reflect this part of the local history and culture in the mural. This extends to the abundance of local fauna and flora thriving in the area. Food is at the heart of the people of Windsor, drawing the community together, and is an essential connection between past, present, and the future.In February, 2019, Art Pharmacy Consulting and Hawkesbury City Council formed an art committee with members from the local community to help with the selection process of artists and the final design of the mural. The art committee was an essential way to ensure that community needs and values remained at the heart of this project. The art committee selected each artist and approved the final mural designs to best reflect the community at large.August 2019 saw the installation of the mural over the space of a week. Dulux sponsored the project by supplying paint to the artists. Art Pharmacy Consulting coordinated the installation process alongside the council and business owners. The murals were sprayed with an anti-graffiti coating, protecting the artwork from damage.An official launch happened for the murals on Thursday September 2nd, 2019, with the artists, members of the Art Pharmacy Consulting team, community members and council leaders in attendance.
Community Feedback
“It’s great to see something being done to liven up Windsor. Hopefully the vacant shops will get a good clean & be occupied soon.””Well done to all that put so much effort into this project well done.”
“So bright and beautiful, fantastic! Thank you!”
“A lot of hard work has gone into the preparation and finalisation of this project. What a great result, well done to the Councillors, Community members and Council staff in this great achievement. Well done also to the fabulous artists!”
“Putting beautiful Windsor on the map! Well done.”
“They look wonderful, they give the mall a huge boost.”
“So good to see this in Windsor. I’m hoping the water tank down near the river will be next. Looks fantastic.”
“A marriage of cultures, new and old, native and introduced. A cornucopia of abundance, apples, oranges, figs, strawberries and raspberries mingle with native flowers and native plant foods like fringed lilies, blueflax lilies and native raspberries. Critters amongst this floral display include an eastern spinebill, a party of blue banded bees, a regent honeyeater and a green and golden bell frog, all local inhabitants, all united by the struggle of competing with the now colonised landscape. The opposing wall contains yellow murnong flowers, which symbolised that yams were ready for harvest. Deeper into the laneway, further attention is directed to the depiction of the vibrant produce grown in the area.” — David & Noni Cragg
