As part of the Darwin Street Art Festival (DSAF), Australian artist, Adnate, in a tribute to the Larrakia mob, turned the exterior wall of Travelodge Resort Darwin into a five-storey outdoor art gallery.
This street art festival saw 30 artists participate in creating 20 colourful new murals across Darwin. Travelodge Resort Darwin was the only hotel to participate in the festival this year.
DSAF Director, David Collins, said he was proud to have local artists make up over half of the line-up for 2023.
“The children featured in the Travelodge mural are both from the Fejo family - they are Larrakia people and are the Traditional Owners of Garramilla (Darwin), which sits upon Larrakia Land,” said Collins. “Both Adnate and the team from Darwin Street Art Festival consulted with the Fejo Family and their Elders prior to this mural commencing and received their blessing and permission.”
Travelodge Resort General Manager, Lucy Ockleston, said the powerful portraiture cut a striking feature in downtown Darwin with Adnate following in the footsteps of New Zealand-born artist, Pennyrose Wiggins (who painted a tribute to Darwin’s famous Wet Season on the hotel walls) and muralist, Lisa King (whose two-storey high portrait of Larrakia Woman, Artist, and Activist, Mililma May adorns the walls of the Travelodge at the busy Cavenagh and Lindsay Street intersection).
“We are humbled to participate in the Darwin Street Art Festival for a second consecutive year and are thrilled to have an artist of Adnate’s calibre transform our hotel’s exterior into such a beautiful mural.”
