Artists Fintan Magee, Cam Scale and Loretta Lizzio set to spark conversation and captivate the Murwillumbah community


The successful applicants have been selected for M|Arts Precinct Large Scale Artwork Proposal in Proudfoots Lane 

Murwillumbah’s creative hub M|Arts Precinct recently invited large scale artwork proposals from Australian artists, designers and illustrators to be installed on the Precinct’s external walls in Proudfoots Lane.  

The public art project was initiated by M|Arts Precinct owner Stephen Webb as an opportunity for artists to connect with the community and contribute to the artistic landscape of the town.  “We are overwhelmed with the response and wish to acknowledge the contemporary relevance and excellent quality of the works of the twenty applicants, who are among the country’s finest established and emerging artists”, Webb said. 

Tweed Regional Gallery Director Susi Muddiman OAM, was one of four community members to join the panel of selectors.  “After much deliberation, we are absolutely thrilled to announce the outcome and look forward to the selected artists installing captivating artworks on the external walls of M|Arts Precinct.  “I feel sure the community will engage with the works; the historical and socially inclusive nature of Magee’s work, and the thought provoking and representational aspects of Scale and Lizzio’s work”, Ms Muddiman said.

Artist Fintan Magee was born locally in Lismore, NSW and is a social realist painter, specialising in large-scale murals.  His work is driven by his recognition of the power of murals to communicate social and political viewpoints.

Magee’s work in Murwillumbah will be a continuation and 5th mural of his Hidden Figures project, which is currently happening all over New South Wales.  “In consultation with local historians and community representatives, I’ll be researching an interesting, subversive or forgotten historical figure, and painting a portrait of them in an artico bevelled glass effect”, Magee said.

Magee aims to provide an alternative to the way historical figures are represented in public art, to explore Australia’s relationship with underdog figures, and to challenge the idea of who should be allowed to be represented.  “I look forward to working with the Murwillumbah community to bring to life the lane way in the centre of town”, Magee said.

Tweed based artists’ Cam Scale and Loretta Lizzio are both well-renown fine artists and mural painters and have works featured all around the country.  Cam and Loretta work primarily with aerosol, oil and acrylic mediums specialising in large-scale atworks exploring romanticism, nature and portraiture.

Scale and Loretta’s artwork on Wall 1 of M|Arts Precinct is about the self-exploration and reflection experienced when we are forced to slow down and stripped of the many things that give us identity.  “The painting will be floating between realism and abstraction shot in a mirror image in a representation of both the internal and external self”, Scale said. 

Council’s Cultural Planner, Dave Burgener said “It’s exciting to see the M | Arts Precinct continue to grow and provide opportunities for artists to create new works.  The Hidden Figures project is a unique way to acknowledge local history through contemporary art, while Cam and Loretta’s work will bring colour to Proudfoots Lane.”

The installation of Magee’s artwork on ‘Wall 2’ in Proudfoots Lane is due to begin in January or February 2022.  ‘Wall 1’ is subject to required Council permissions, and will be re-visited early next year following further consultation with the relevant council representatives.  

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