Unmissable in recent weeks is a wall that brightens up the hustle and bustle of Gunnedah’s main street and its message is for all.

‘The Conadilly Canvas’ can be seen on the side of Hennessy Real Estate’s wall. It was an initiative started by Ben Hennessy after speaking with his daughter about mental health issues young people go through, as noted in a previous story in the Gunnedah Times.

The wall paints a story of community and mental health awareness and gives an opportunity for all to stop and reflect when times are most tough.

The wall’s design was created by mural artist Katie Bigg and was inspired by winning submissions made by people aged 12-18. The judging panel included Ben Hennessy, psychologist Amanda Jefferys and sponsor Keira Gifford.

They considered specific elements such as connection, hope and mental wellness along with how well submissions could work together to create a mural.

It was many hours playing with different options for the final design but it was decided to tell a story from left to right, from bad times to good times.

In particular, Katie said psychologist Amanda had suggested ideas and was taken into consideration.

Keira said the wall looks even better in person than the concepts they were given.

“We’ve had so many comments about how it’s brightening up the street, but also the message that’s behind it is amazing,” she said.

“Even when I’m down here it just makes me feel so much brighter.”

She said the stories behind the youth submissions “gives it so much heart” and with the community’s help makes it all the more meaningful.

In part the wall’s completion can be given thanks to the community for. People stopped by last month for a successful paint day, which really saw the wall take shape. It was completed not long after and has been a talking point since.

The team is considering updating the mural every year and hopes people will continue to show up for the cause.

Katie created the design based on three winning submissions:

First place: Anindya Petriaton, aged 16 from Gunnedah with her piece titled Growth in Colour

Second place: Mabel Zouniz, aged 13 from Narrabri with her piece titled Keep Smiling

Third place: Steven Walters, aged 16 from Gunnedah with his piece titled Mental Paralysis

Steven talked with the Gunnedah Times at the community paint day last month. The inspiration of his artwork, ‘Mental Paralysis’, can be seen with pride of place in the left-hand bottom corner.

He said the artwork is not about him, but about the struggles of other people he knows.

“It shows how [the dark side of

mental health] can cripple them, it can show how it destroys their livelihood,” he said.

His work was submitted as just the hand on the face, but now it includes a hand on the shoulder to show support.

“People seem to avoid [talking about mental health] because they’re too scared of what other people think,” he said.

He believes it doesn’t matter if someone is a friend or not, he is happy to talk with any of his peers when times are hard.

“It’s very important to me, like anyone could come up to me, [even if they don’t like me]… they can still talk to me about their mental health because everyone matters.”