THE Hastings Valley Netball Association (HVNA) clubhouse and toilet block has been a popular target for graffiti vandals over the years.
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Graffiti tags and offensive pictures have inundated the community building, with the association having to fork out $8,500 to repaint the building.
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"It is constant for us. Our president would have to come and paint over everything before the season starts and it was costing us a lot of money," HVNA junior president Denise Hillier said.
That's when Denise had the idea to have a mural painted over the entirety of the building to hopefully deter any further vandalism.
The joint collaboration between HVNA and Murals on the Moove will see a beautiful art piece showcasing local features and colours matching the netball club's uniform painted on the building.
Deborah Parker is from Port Stephens and started her business Murals on the Moove during the pandemic.
"I have been an artist for 30 years and just decided that I was sick of sitting around last year and thought of Murals on the Moove," Deborah said.
Since then she has been travelling to a number of towns across Australia and painting murals.
She also involves other artists in the work.
"My neighbour David De Costa-Silva is an art teacher and he's here helping me with this mural, as well as Kim Marklew who is an artist from Kempsey," Deborah said.
"It seems that when there is artwork on a building, graffiti vandals do leave it alone."
Denise reached out to Deborah through Facebook after deciding to have a mural painted on the clubhouse.
"We did a vote a few weeks ago and decided it was the best option for us to try and stop the graffiti," Denise said.
"I had seen the work that Deborah had done and knew that she would be able to create something for us."
Denise has been involved with the HVNA for 20 years and said during that time they have tried a number of ways to deter vandals.
"We had security cameras installed, but they were smashed. We also employed a security guard for a while, but that also didn't help," she said.
"We have also looked into getting shutter screens installed but the posts surrounding the building aren't suitable for that. A mural is the best option for us."
The netball courts, although predominantly used by the club, are also open for use to the community.
"A lot of people walk through this area and people use the courts for bike riding and roller skating. We're doing this for both the HVNA and the community to enjoy," Denise said.
Each side of the building will have a different themed mural, with the artists working over three days to complete it.
"We wanted to include some of the local features so there is one side with a beach theme, one with native plants and one side will also have the lighthouse painted on it with some magpies," Deborah said.
"Denise was very open to what we had in mind for the mural and her only brief was to make sure it was busy."
"The graffiti was constant for us, so we're really hoping having a mural will stop the vandalism problem," Denise added.
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