MEDIA RELEASE: Colourful collaboration enlivens Valley Youth Space
From brown to wow. The Valley Youth Space in Niddrie has come alive with murals.
Those brown bricks and drab walls were never going to survive the imaginative young minds of Valley Youth.
Members of the City of Moonee Valley group have proudly put their creativity and inspirations on permanent show at the Valley Youth Space in an eye-popping symphony of colour and shapes across the venue’s exterior and interior walls, with help from mural artist Hoffy.
The Valley Youth Space is a welcoming space used for workshops, programs and event planning for Moonee Valley people aged 12-25. However, the building didn’t reflect the dynamic and artistic community it housed.
Inspired by the community’s diversity, creativity and community spirit, the murals were brought to life during co-design workshops with Hoffy and Valley Youth members.
The project follows a 2023 collaboration between Valley Youth and another mural artist, Kelsie Cosmic, with Kelsie and group members bringing a splash of colour to the walls at Queens Park Pool as part of last year’s Capital Works Projects.
The co-design sessions for Valley Youth Space began during the April school holidays. It was in these sessions that design ideas, inspired by local fauna and flora and the young people’s own passions, began to take shape.
Among the imagery wrapping the internal and external walls are white gum leaves representing local landscapes, the winding Maribyrnong River, markings from the spotted marsh frog symbolising the area’s natural environment, as well as playful beanbag and music-related shapes nodding to activities held in the space.
Enlarged forms of a pigeon’s head and a duck’s footprint create dynamic focal points. Groups of people holding hands signify community unity.
“It wasn’t about just about capturing the visual things, but also wanting to capture the fun and creativity that happens at Valley Youth Space,” says Hoffy.
“It’s really good how Moonee Valley Council has embraced a project like this.”
A three-minute video of the project, including interviews with the artist and participants, gives a birds-eye view into the process and gradual coming-to-life of the murals, and clearly conveys the young people’s pride and sense of ownership in their work.
The mural work formed part of Council’s 2023/2024 Capital Works Projects, an aim of which is to create welcoming spaces for young people. It also supports the Council’s far-ranging arts and culture masterplan, Igniting Creativity in Moonee Valley 23-27.
City of Moonee Valley Mayor, Cr Pierce Tyson, said the murals “echoed the creativity and diversity of Moonee Valley’s young people”, and made Valley Youth Space an even more inviting place for young people to visit.
“Valley Youth Space is now a spectacular feature of Niddrie’s urban landscape,” Mayor Tyson said.
“I’m so grateful to Hoffy and all the young people involved for putting their hearts and imaginations on these walls. Now the broader community can also enjoy and take pride in this beautiful addition to Moonee Valley’s public art offerings – and hopefully see a bit of their own hearts and imaginations in it, too.”
You can find more of Hoffy’s work via her website and social media @hellohoffy.
ENDS
Media enquiries:
Jo Roberts, Team Leader Media & Strategic Communications
Mobile 0416 156 566 | Email: media@mvcc.vic.gov.au