News / Art & Culture
Spectacular entrance to new arts and community hub
Mural conveys a message of First Nations identity and endurance
Mark Phillips
THE first thing most visitors to Brunswick’s new $30 million arts and community precinct will see is a huge colourful mural designed by renowned Kamilaroi artist Reko Rennie.
The mural featuring the colours of the Aboriginal flag in a series of diamond shapes was commissioned by Merri-bek Council for Balam Balam Place on the corner of Phoenix and Saxon streets, which has now opened for business.
Called ‘Always’, it pays tribute to the traditional owners of the land on which Melbourne/Naarm was built and their ongoing connections today.
The work wraps around the eastern wall of what was formerly a school building and is now known as The Steps at the entrance to Balam Balam Place on Phoenix Street facing Sydney Road.
Encompassing a 10.6m high and 6.2m high wall, along with a 3.8m wide side panel, it took signwriter Martin Boyle and a colleague more than a week to paint from Rennie’s concept drawings. Boyle finished the final touches on March 14.
For Rennie, the mural marks a return to an area where he started out as a struggling artist more than two decades ago, and it is also why he appreciates the investment in a new space for creative workers in Brunswick.
“I’ve had some of my early studios in Brunswick, particularly before they were all converted in warehouses,” he said.
“I’ve spent a lot of lot of time painting shows and occupying cold warehouses, so it’s always been a close place to my heart and, and my practice.
“That was the thing – you used to get in one [warehouse studio space] and then stay for a year or two, and then you’d have to get out because it’s getting developed.
“And my daughter lives in the area, so that’s great.”
‘Always’ features Rennie’s trademark bold geometric patterns in the red, black and yellow of the Aboriginal flag and pays homage to south-eastern Victorian Indigenous art.
Rennie said he wanted to convey a proud message of First Nations identity and community through the work and for it to act as both a beacon for the community and “a reminder that always was, always will be Aboriginal land”.
He is delighted that the work is close to the new Blak Dot Gallery which has returned to the space and will again showcase First Nations art from around the world.
“[The mural] looks amazing,” he said.
“There’s a large First Nations community, and such a diverse community that live and work in this space. So I’m really honoured to have the work showing my work here, and it’s been a really great team effort.”
Rennie has had a busy start to 2025. A major retrospective exhibition of his work was held during summer and in February his design of the new match kit for Australia’s men and women’s soccer teams was unveiled when it was worn by the Matildas at the SheBelieves Cup in the US.
He was commissioned to produce a work for Balam Balam early in 2024. ‘Always’ was designed from scratch after considering where it would be positioned within Balam Balam Place
An official opening ceremony for Balam Balam Place will be held on March 28, followed by a public open day on April 5.
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