Arts North West invited mural artists from across the New England North West to transform 1.2-metre square plywood panels into compelling works for inclusion in the region’s evolving Roaming Murals program — a dynamic public art initiative embedded within CBD activations.

Artists were encouraged to respond to the theme of change, vibrancy, and growth, creating works that spark creativity and wonder while evoking curiosity and a spirit of exploration. Each panel becomes both an individual artistic statement and part of a larger, shifting visual narrative that moves through towns and communities.

The Roaming Murals have become a recognised feature of festival programming throughout the NENW, activating public spaces during events such as the Tamworth Country Music Festival, Glen Innes Margarita and Taco Festival, Gunnedah Christmas Festival, Bingara Orange Festival, and many more. With each iteration, the collection expands — growing in scale, ambition, and artistic diversity — reflecting the region’s cultural vitality and the ongoing evolution of its creative landscape.

MEET THE ROAMING MURAL ARTISTS

Tone Cotter is a professional barber with a passion for art, both in digital and traditional mediums. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic provided him with unexpected free time, allowing him to focus more on his artistic pursuits. Tone’s artistic journey includes painting murals for "The Welders Dog," both inside and outside their Tamworth bar, as well as at their new brewery in Armidale, commissioned for a mural in an office space for "Compassionate Horizons," a local NDIS support provide and volunteered his time to paint a mural for "Tamworth Safe Haven," an after-hours emergency mental health facility. He has also created murals and large scale art pieces in non-commercial, private spaces. For the past three years, he has managed a youth engagement program at Peel High School, designing and painting a mural on school grounds.
Fonda Shae is a local artist based in Gunnedah. Her passion for community art projects allowed her to work with Gunnedah Shire Council as their Cultural Programs Coordinator and at the Work Of Art Community Gallery. Sharing her love for art and the community, Fonda has recently joined Gunnedah Hospital’s Arts Working Group. As an artist, Fonda has painted jeans for Jamm for Jeans (a Genes for Jeans initiative), and she is currently creating two local murals for public display; a 6-metre shearing mural and a mural for Gunnedah bakery Reverence Sourdough. In 2022 and 2023 Fonda entered the Archibald Prize and she has won many local awards for her artworks. Fonda sells prints of her artwork via her online Redbubble store where her work has been purchased by international buyers.
Amy Cantfield is a Moree-based creative. She studied a Diploma in Art and Design at university. However, she soon realised that the traditional academic path was not aligned with her aspirations. Seeking a different route, Amy embarked on a journey of exploration and self-discovery, venturing into the realm of travel while nurturing her artistic career. By winning a local competition in Moree, NSW, Amy stumbled upon the world of murals, which became a pivotal moment in her artistic journey. Prior to this, she had already dabbled in painting children's bedrooms, unaware of the potential for it to become a viable career. Fast forward several years, marked by unwavering dedication and hard work, Amy has been fortunate enough to collaborate with esteemed charities, businesses, and notable corporations, including McDonald's.
David Allan is an illustrator and artist based in Armidale, NSW. He has had solo and group exhibitions, including at the Armidale Art Gallery and NERAM. David has illustrated several books and anthologies, including The Stuff of Tales, published by Arts North West in 2018. In 2019 David, along with local artist Fiona McDonald, designed and painted a beautiful dragon mural at the Armidale War Memorial Library. His work is in private and public collections around Australia.
Audrey Fogg is a contemporary Gomeroi Aboriginal artist and registered nurse from Tamworth. Audrey’s art is inspired by her Aboriginal heritage, her grandfather Cyril Knox, and her parents. She often sits and paints with her parents who have always supported her artistic endeavours. Audrey enjoys acrylic painting on canvas and kitchenwares. She sells her artwork and wares through her small business Lil Aud’s Aboriginal Art which can be found on Facebook. In 2023, Audrey was a selected artist for Arts North West’s project Letter To My Returning, with her responding artwork being displayed as part of an accompanying exhibition in 2024. In 2021, Audrey had artwork included in Hunter New England Health’s Lets Yarn About Our Bladder project. And in early 2024, her art will be printed on golf shirts as part of the Knox Memorial Golf Day. Audrey accepts commission requests for her hand-painted kitchenware and canvas artwork. Audrey can often be found at local weekend markets chatting to people and selling her work.
Fiona McDonald trained as a visual artist at the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney in the late 80s. Since then, she has worked across a number of different mediums including soft and mixed media sculpture, illustration, painting (including mural work) and drawing. Based in Armidale, she has had many books published internationally, including an illustrated novel for children, Ghost Doll and Jasper, and a bestselling history of street art, The Popular History of Graffiti: From the Ancient World to the Present. Fiona is also the co-founder of the independent children’s publisher Christmas Press and its two imprints, Second Look and Eagle Books. Previously, Fiona has also contributed murals to the Armidale War Memorial Library.
James O'Hanlon is an artist and storyteller based in Armidale. He works at the intersection of art, science, and storytelling and creates work that celebrates themes of nature, exploration, and discovery. James’ large-scale public art pieces can be seen throughout regional NSW having worked with a range of commercial, private, and local government clients. Mostly, his public art pieces can be seen throughout Armidale including the Mall Arcade, The Welder’s Dog, Paper Tiger Eatery, NOVA, NECOM and more. Having moved from a career in science to focusing on his art, James draws from his background to create and influence his works. James was the 2021 recipient of the Varuna-New England Writers Centre Fellowship and the 2022 recipient of the Helen Dangar Memorial Bursary.
Jodie Herden is a proud Gamilaraay woman born and raised in Tamworth. Growing up she was strong in spirit and the connection to country and culture. Art is her passion; she knows it is her ancestors guiding her. Jodie has co-authored and illustrated the published children's book Star Dreaming and has been an exhibiting artist for over 25 years. She has had works exhibited overseas and promoted in an ad for Qantas with one of Australia’s largest Arts Network Bluethumb. Jodie has been commissioned to create artwork for Fire and Rescue NSW with her work adorning several fire trucks across the Gomeroi Nation. She has completed several large murals in schools around the region and recently completed a commissioned piece and mural for Hockey NSW. Over the past 10 years, Jodie has facilitated cultural and art workshops around the NENW region and she has received many awards for her contributions to the arts and community.
Karen Balsar is an emerging visual artist from Tamworth. She returned to her passion for art and illustration in 2015 when she joined the art team on Tamworth Regional Council’s Tamworth Adventure Playground project, contributing vibrant large-scale murals featuring native animals. Karen is a founding member of TRAC (Tamworth Regional Art Collective), a group of like-minded artists with an interest in public and community art. Some of her collaborations include mosaic works, murals on electrical boxes and walls in local schools. Following Karen's debut (collaborative) exhibition of metal sculptures, The Strength Within was acquired within the Tamworth Regional Council Public Art Strategy and installed as a public artwork in Nundle, NSW.
Maisie is a local multi-medium artist based in Moree. From a young age, she has been making and creating art from everything around her. Maisie’s art takes inspiration from her surroundings by use of colours, music and interior design. Her mediums include painting, weaving and ceramics.
Charlie Nivison is a visual artist, illustrator, and designer originally from Walcha. In 2008, a chance to exhibit 20 t-shirt designs in a small gallery in Sydney sparked the idea of creating the design label, Silly Pear. Since that exhibition, Silly Pear has morphed into much more than just a t-shirt company; it is a design hub, now based in Syndey, offering illustration, design, creative direction, branding, and screen-printing services. Silly Pear’s distinct murals and artworks have been exhibited around the world.
After studying and working in Sydney, CRISP spent over 10 years living, working, traveling and creating art in the UK, Europe, Asia, North and South America before settling in Bogota, Colombia. This amazingly vibrant, chaotic and “street art” mecca inspired CRISP to start expressing himself on walls rather than more traditional mediums. CRISP believes in communities reclaiming the street aesthetic as their own from capitalist advertising, corporate slogans and even just the mundane boring obsession of sterile grey concrete walls, city councils tend to prefer today! He has recently been combining his love of travel and street art by putting works up in London, New York, Miami, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Alaska, and Colombia. He recently was part of Festival Anonymous in Sayulita, Mexico.