Keith Haring Mural
History
New York-based artist Keith Haring, who died in 1990, visited Australia in 1984 where he undertook art projects in Melbourne and Sydney. His mural at the then Collingwood Technical School on Johnston St is one of only 31 known murals across the world that have survived to this day. It was added to the Victorian Heritage Register in 2004.
This mural is an important legacy for the Victorian community. Arts Victoria took over management of the site in 2010 when it was identified as the location for the new Circus Oz headquarters. Since then, we’ve been working on a project to conserve and protect the mural so it can be shared with future generations.
Conservation Management Plan
Arts Victoria commissioned Melbourne conservation and architecture firm RBA Consultants to prepare a Conservation Management Plan.
The Plan recommended stabilisation works, cleaning and selective retouching in order to prevent further deterioration and bring back the mural’s visibility and vitality.
To view the Conservation Management Plan in full, please download it here:
Heritage Victoria Permit
After a public submission process, Heritage Victoria issued a permit for works to repair, protect and restore the mural in line with its Heritage overlay.
The permit allows for:
- Research and technical investigation works
- Works to protect the mural from UV damage
- Repair and reinstatement of damaged or lost paint and render
- Retouching of red and yellow paint subject to technical investigations
- Cleaning and consolidation treatments, and
- Landscaping works in the surrounding area.
The full permit is available on the Heritage Victoria website.
Latest News
Missing for almost 30 years, the signature piece of the mural (a wooden door located at the bottom mural - see image of the gap below) has been returned to Arts Victoria. Find out more.
As construction work is underway on the Circus Oz project a protective hoarding has been erected around the mural. This will safeguard the mural during the works but unfortunately means that it is not visible to the public at this time. Arts Victoria has commissioned a photogrammetric survey of the mural in its current state. A high resolution image from this survey can be viewed here:
Should you have any further questions please contact:
Christopher Dupé, Senior Manager, Cultural Infrastructure, Arts Victoria at Christopher.Dupe@dpc.vic.gov.au
or
Jessica Hochberg, Project Officer, Cultural Infrastructure, Arts Victoria at Jessica.Hochberg@dpc.vic.gov.au.