Back in April 2010, we mentioned the Keith Haring mural in Melbourne in our Friday Digest. The article we selected was titled: Melbourne’s Keith Haring mural in urgent need of restoration.

In 1984 Keith Haring was invited to Melbourne by John Buckley from the Australian Centre for Contemporary Arts. He created the mural in a less than a day with the help of students from Collingwood Technical College.

But since April 2010, nothing much has changed… We can read in this article published today on the Sydney Morning Herald:

Twenty-seven years later the mural is bleached and nearly lost – lacking Haring’s signature colour and vibrancy. Despite being registered with the Victorian Heritage Council it has been neglected by the site owners (the Victorian government) without maintenance or care […] The right course for the Haring mural is for it to be repainted and returned to its intended vitality. Document the work as it exists now – digitally archive its history in a way that makes it accessible to all. The rest of the money should be spent stabilising the wall and repainting.

The mural is one of the few still-existing Haring murals worldwide that has not been restored. ‘By not reviving its Keith Haring mural, Melbourne ignores a legend’s wishes’. Please save the Haring mural in Melbourne!

The Keith-Haring mural in Collingwood.
Photo: Wayne Taylor