Eight new murals were unveiled at Rochester Mural Park over the weekend as the Rochester Mural Festival came to a close.
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The festival kicked off on Saturday, March 21, with a ‘Meet the Artists’ dinner before the eight artists began to bring their miniature murals to life from Sunday, March 22, to Friday, March 27.
Despite rainy and windy conditions, the artists finished their pieces on schedule by 6pm on Friday.
On Saturday, March 28, the crowds returned to admire the finished works and vote for their favourite.
Among the audience were mural artist Jimmy Dvate, local teacher Shelley Nichol and Bendigo artist Rachel O’Dwyer, who served as secret judges.
The judges praised both the quality of the murals and the community’s enthusiasm for the festival.
Four-time contender Marco Pennacchia claimed the top prize for the second time with his entry Under the Lamps’ Gentle Glow.
Mr Pennacchia said while the win was nice, he simply enjoyed taking part in the festival.
“I love competition, but I also love the guys here,” he said.
“All the artists, we have become friends during the years ... we come to Rochester and we go to Sheffield (Mural Festival), so we get to see each other and compete.”
Working within this year’s theme ‘The Power of Small Moments’, Mr Pennacchia said his inspiration came from his appreciation of quiet reflection.
He said he valued moments of silence and reflection and reading helped people escape into their own minds.
Other award winners included long-time contender Kerry Nicholson, who received the highly commended award for his mural Shadow Puppets, while newcomers Patricia Smart and Olly Grohs took home the people’s choice award for their piece Life Takes Flight.
During the closing event, committee member Tracie Kyne thanked everyone for their support, especially the Rochester Mural Festival committee.
“I just want to thank you all again for your support. What a great week,” she said.
“We've had an amazing time with our artists, with all our visitors coming through but also the committee that jumped on board, that saw that we could keep this going.
“I think there's about 20 of us on our committee that wanted to make this happen again and geez we’ve done a bloody good job.”