The 2025 Rochester Mural Festival officially launched on Saturday night with its inaugural opening dinner.
There was nary a spare seat in sight as over 60 guests, including the eight artists, gathered at the 4R’s for a two-course dinner and prizes.
This year's artists include Marco Pennacchia, Christina Rankin, Chris Duffy, Kerry Nicholson, Isabelle Kawai Vincent, Kristina Greenwood, Steve Monk and Gren Freeman.
The successful finalists came from towns and cities near and far, including Bendigo, Albury, Tasmania, Toowoomba, Melbourne, Echuca and Rochester.
After dinner, artists revealed their mural designs which were created with the theme of ‘Life, Love, Music’ in mind.
Guests also had the chance to win one of the many raffle prizes, which were donated by 12 local businesses and community members.
The event marked the beginning of an intense week of mural marking for the artists, as they began their murals the following Sunday.
The artists will be working on their projects daily from 8am to 5pm at the Mural Park along the Northern Highway until Friday, April 4.
As they work, festival-goers are welcome to interact with the artists or watch the murals come to life while enjoying a Devonshire tea.
Canvases are available for $5 from schools and the Dingwalls Rochester Newsagency.
Meet the Artists
Gren Freeman
Gren Freeman is a veteran in the mural art world, hailing from Australia’s mural capital of Tasmania.
With a background in signage and graphic design, murals were a natural progression for the artist after taking an interest in the art style back in 2014 and entering the Sheffield Mural Festival.
Since then, he has been a finalist and winner of the Sheffield Mural Festival many times.
Mr Freeman was also the winner of the Rochester Mural Festival last year for his mural ‘Impossible Dream’.
The artwork depicted a self-portrait of Mr Freeman surrounded by things he wanted to remove from the world, like weapons, money and rubbish.
This year, his entry ‘Rhythms of the season’ which aims to depict love among nature and connection between it.
Steve and Carole Monk
Steve Monk is another returning artist and former Rochester Mural Festival winner.
Mr Monk has travelled the world to paint murals, winning awards in Jamestown, South Australia and Katikati, New Zealand.
He had some art training while studying in teachers college but pivoted into social work later on where he met his wife Carole.
He has been a strong supporter of the Rochy Mural Festival, attending five shows as an artist since its inception.
One of his murals has remained in Rochy since 2018 and can be seen at the Rochester Ampol.
This year, in collaboration with his wife, their mural tells the story of two foster sisters who shared a connection through music.
During the opening dinner, Mr Monk shared a story during his childhood of visiting Frankston Beach with the sisters and watching them listen to a walkman during the trip.