Rochester Mural Festival to celebrate life, love and music

The artists will work on their murals from Sunday, March 30, to Friday, April 4, from 8am to 5pm.

Everyone is welcome to watch the artists work or attend the presentation day on Saturday, April 5, to see the final pieces and enjoy food and prizes.

Meet the artists

Chris Duffy

Chris Duffy is not new to the festival, having previously participated in 2022 and 2024.

Mr Duffy said he enjoyed taking part in the event because of the people he met and their interest in his art.

“I absolutely love it. It’s really good fun and you get to interact with the people who come to visit,” he said.

“People become involved in the process and once it sparks an interest, they keep coming back to see the progress.”

Mr Duffy graduated from La Trobe Univeristy’s Bendigo campus in 1999, completing an honours degree in fine arts.

It wasn’t until the late 2000s, when he moved to the Bellarine Peninsula, that he began to gravitate towards creating murals.

He is now well known around Bendigo and surrounds for his murals, which are usually painted in his signature pop art style.

Mr Duffy said he enjoyed painting murals because of their large scale.

“I like painting large and I like painting on walls, even though they’re hard work,” he said.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time and the style just marries to you.

“My first mural was actually in Benalla, but on the Bellarine I started painting them in bars and clubs ... but mostly I’m known for the murals I’ve done in Bendigo in the CBD.”

Marco Pennacchia

Marco Pennacchia is another artist who will be returning for his third time to the festival.

Mr Pennacchia said the festival was a way for artists to showcase their art outside commissioned work.

“It's a way for an artist to promote himself and to show the murals and the art,” he said.

“Usually you work with clients or the client tells you what they want and the style they want, but with festivals, you’re free. You can be yourself.”

Mr Pennacchia hails from Italy and has been living in Melbourne for five years.

Before moving to Australia, art was just a hobby but it is now his full-time job.

He was originally an oil painter, creating on small canvases, but he fell in love with murals because of their large scale.

His work has been well received at the Rochester Mural Festival, where he claimed the first prize in 2022 and second place in 2024.

Mr Pennacchia said for his design this year, he wanted to capture his love for music and his culture.

“(Life, love and music) was a pretty hard concept,” he said.

“I tried to incorporate my Italian heritage in my painting ... and to (capture) my love for my culture, my history and the life I had there.”