Newest street art opens

The opening of Warragul’s newest street art with a scouting focus recently attracted more than 80 people.

The result of a collaborative effort, the impressive mural titled “Scouting in the 21st Century” is now completed on the walls of Warragul Scout Hall.

Kevin McLaren of Warragul Police cut the ribbon to officially open the mural and Warragul Scout Group leader Kristy Waddell thanked all involved for their hard work to make this street art project a reality.

“The Warragul Scout Hall is in a very public place next to the Linear Walking Trail in Warragul and is visible to many who use the surrounding area for exercise and recreation,” said Ms Waddell. “We hope the public will enjoy this artwork as much as the scouts do.”

Artist Jo Draisma said workshops were held with scouting youth members to field ideas about what they wanted on the scout hall mural.

“They told us that scouting was about fun outdoor activities where they interacted with the environment, earned badges and, of course, cooked marshmallows over the fire at night camps,” said Ms Draisma.

The mural was created from the idea where the grey, technology addicted youth blossomed into colourful active scout members in the great outdoors.

The mural project was made possible by a grant from the Department of Justice’s Graffiti Prevention Program and was a collaborative project between the Victorian State Government, Baw Baw Shire, Warragul Scout Group, Warragul Police and talented local artists.