Street artist Chris Henderson leads a workshop at Corowa High School to design the new mural for Corowa skate park.
Students from Corowa High School are putting their creative flair to use, working with street artist, Chris Hendersen to transform the look and feel of the skate park, to give it a fresh new vibe.
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Chris has come full circle since painting the first mural at Corowa skate park, having painted two faces of Melbourne’s Hanover House in Southbank, and now returning to where it began.
On Friday, Chris led a workshop for senior students where they learned brainstorming techniques to free up and unleash their creativity and come up with new designs for the mural.
“It feels great to come back to the area I grew up in and bring back what I’ve learned and what I do,” Chris said.
“It’s an opportunity to listen to the kids and hear their ideas so they can be part of the process from the beginning and then take care of it afterwards.
“It’s fundamental that these kids be involved; all public works should involve the community.
“This is something that is fun to look back on and gives these kids a sense of ownership of the design – they can say, ‘I did that’.”
Jack Lovell-Matta, Katherine Robertson and Francis Fernando took part in some fun and quirky brainstorming techniques.
Francis Fernando and Alira Wight were two of the students taking part in the workshop.
“It’s good because you get to do something you like and you get to do it together with other people,” Francis said.
“Art is just something I enjoy doing; I like still life and landscapes.
“I’m definitely looking forward to being involved with this further along.”
Alira prefers digital art, using Ibis Paint on her iPad, and said that moving to Corowa had given her an opportunity to be involved in the community, which she didn’t previously have.
“Being involved in this means I get to do something good for the community,” Alira said.
“I don’t think I’ll make a career from my art because I don’t know if I want to turn art into a chore that I have to do.”
Alira Wight and Phoebe Ireland came up with their own conceptual artwork.
Chris said the next step was to take the words and imagery produced from the workshop and see what common threads come up.
The next week will move into concept development with a “bit of back and forth with the council”.
But Chris said there’s a clear direction now and painting will start in mid to late May.
