Latrobe City Churchill Underpass Mural: A$50,000 Public Art EOI Closes 20 October 2026

Very short deadline for a public mural in Churchill, Victoria

Latrobe City Council is inviting expressions of interest from experienced large-scale outdoor muralists or artist teams for the Monash Way pedestrian underpass in Churchill, Gippsland. The explicit EOI deadline in the council's submission section is Tuesday 20 October 2026 at 5:00 p.m. local Melbourne time, with late applications excluded. Because this call was checked on 19 October, interested practitioners have little time to prepare. The chosen artist will update an existing community-informed colour palette and animal-stencil design, paint the tunnel and adjacent walls and lead a public painting activity. This is an artist commission for a real site, not a virtual illustration challenge.

There is an inconsistency in the council's published timeline table, which also mentions a Friday 6 November Stage 1 milestone. The application instruction explicitly names 20 October at 5pm as the closing date, so artists should use that earlier deadline and seek written clarification from the council rather than risk a late submission.

A$50,000 is an all-inclusive project budget—not the artist's personal award

The commission totals A$50,000 excluding GST and includes the activities and costs of delivering the mural. The council specifies A$25,000 artist fee plus A$3,000 superannuation, A$15,000 for paints and materials, A$4,000 contingency incorporating twelve months of maintenance, and allowances for up to two shortlisted concepts. The published shortlist fee is A$1,320 plus A$180 superannuation per shortlisted artist or team. Thus neither A$50,000 nor every component is a free cash prize for each applicant.

The initial expression of interest is unpaid. After the first round, up to two artists or teams will be invited to develop detailed concepts for the stated shortlist honorarium; a final artist or team will then be appointed and required to agree a written contract and installation plan. Artists need to make sure insurance, access, equipment hire, staffing, safety controls, anti-graffiti coating and maintenance are covered by the final budget.

The design must respond to a real community and a functioning tunnel

The underpass connects residential areas with the Churchill shopping area and is used by cyclists and pedestrians. Its approximate tunnel dimensions are 12.6 metres long, 2.5 metres high and 2.5 metres wide, with adjoining wall sections. The design takes inspiration from Kurnai College students' animal stencils and a palette developed through earlier local consultation. Council wants a welcoming, durable artwork that reduces the hostile feel of graffiti while respecting the history and character of the locality.

A chosen artist must support a community painting day, including relevant safeguarding measures such as a Working with Children Check when required. The pedestrian route is to remain open during works, and the finished work needs an anti-graffiti coating. Explicit council terms prohibit political artwork; cultural material and First Nations imagery must be handled under appropriate consultation protocols.

Local experience scores extra points but is not mandatory

The published scoring framework gives applicants based within Latrobe City five geographic points and applicants elsewhere in Gippsland four. It explicitly states that knowledge of or connection to Churchill and Gippsland is desirable rather than mandatory. This does not mean a person with no experience of public murals will be competitive: selection also evaluates artistic standard, proven delivery of projects, relevance to the brief, innovation, technical competence, deadlines and budget management.

Applicants should put evidence of large-scale murals, weather-resistant materials, community engagement, planning and risk management in the EOI. If based outside Gippsland, explain how site visits, local consultation and on-site installation will be arranged without transferring unexpected costs to the council.

How to submit correctly

Email one PDF containing a brief artist biography and current CV of no more than two pages per artist or team member, a statement responding to the brief, and up to ten images showing past mural work. Send it to BuildingProjects@latrobe.vic.gov.au by 5 p.m. on 20 October 2026. The council's page offers a downloadable EOI guide, artist brief, site location and photos of the student stencil work. Shortlisted artists will be contacted for colour designs, detailed method, work plan, risk assessment and itemised project budget.

The first EOI must not be mistaken for a final funded design contract. Confirm receipt before the deadline, and do not start paid work before a written agreement. Contact the council's nominated contract officer Dylan Nicholson through Dylan.Nicholson@latrobe.vic.gov.au or 0403 632 956 with procedural questions.

Organizer, track record and primary source

Latrobe City Council is a Victorian local-government authority serving Churchill, Moe/Newborough, Morwell and Traralgon and neighbouring Gippsland communities. Its public website provides the underlying consultation design, accessible urban-improvement rationale, Council contacts, shortlist fees, public-art standards and a copyright clause retaining design intellectual property with the artist while allowing acknowledged promotional use by Council. The commissioning arrangements can therefore be verified directly rather than through anonymous intermediaries.

Official EOI, brief, deadline and budget: https://www.latrobe.vic.gov.au/Public_Art_Project_Expression_of_Interest_EOI . Critical deadline: 20 October 2026, 5 p.m. Melbourne local time; official timeline elsewhere on the page is inconsistent, so use the earlier time. Primary-source check: 19 October 2026.