A gift for the audience

A NEW mural is soon to be painted on the external wall of Bendigo Cinema to show appreciation to the decades spent in front of its screens by local audiences.

The Arthur Street venue has been part of the city since its opening in 1975 as the Golden Twin Theatre, a name still used affectionately by some locals.

Filip Sali from Bendigo Cinema, said the mural is a way to cement the cinema as an identifiable venue, unique to Bendigo.

“It’s nice to add to the community of Bendigo where you’ve got so much beautiful art of a different array,” he said.

“The pictures are about supporting arts, that’s what we do, we bring nice pictures to people.

“You’ve got artists that are involved in that and then we thought, Bendigo has been so great to us we want to give something back as well.”

The $28,000 commission went to Australian artist Gus Eagleton, who Mr Sali said was chosen for his experience and ability to work with the space he’s painting on.

“We wanted something that was sort of 3D, that worked with our theme, that worked with our wall and was light, easy, family friendly and that sort of incorporated the cinemas but not too obviously,” Mr Sali said.

To stray from the expected depictions of blockbuster movies, Mr Sali said they chose the theme ‘School Holidays’ for its original narrative potential, a concept he thought Eagleton had captured successfully.

“I went into the cinemas during the school holidays and it’s exactly like what he’s incorporated, he’s hit the nail right on the head,” he said.

“It’s very contemporary and it’s easy, you look at it and it’s a nice content sort of feeling.”

The mural is the first step in plans for Bendigo Cinema to engage with the local arts community, the details for which Mr Sali said would be coming soon.

Work will begin soon with the first paint to be applied by mid-March and the full piece to be finished by the beginning of April.