Nick Fintan ‘Merewether Mural’
A mural to help inspire visual arts high school students in 2020 during the pandemic.
Newcastle artist Nick Fintan worked with Cooks Hill Campus students to help paint a 45 square metre mural at the Soul Kollective in Merewether.
The Wall Station were successful in receiving a Newcastle City Council ‘Boost Your Place’ placemaking grant for a Nick Fintan mural which aimed to not only beautify Merewether but to help mentor young budding muralists. Along-side his professional studio and mural painting practice, Nick is also a casual visual arts high school teacher.
The mural was installed on the side wall of the Soul Kollective store in Merewether. The creative brief for the mural was: “Using a soft pastel palette, the mural will pay homage to the feminine creativity of the Soul Kollective.Taking inspiration from a whimsical style, and referencing elements of the local landscape, the mural will also feature an instagramable element that visitors will want to stop and interact with."
‘It’s been a hard year for creative high school students. All art excursions have been cancelled. There’s no visitors allowed on campuses, so no artist workshops or school murals happening. For me, it is important to create an opportunity through my mural for students with a passion for painting to continue to learn and find inspiration this year’ says Nick.
The Soul Kollective is a collab store which stocks a range of creative, hand-made, and bespoke homewares, gifts, art, clothing and jewellery from local and Australian artists and makers. “We are so excited about this mural”, says Jasey Stanley owner of Soul Kollective. “The mural is a gorgeous mix of local and colourful elements – which reflects a lot of what the Soul Kollective is about.”
