Euphorium Do-Over: Change-makers celebrate small wins and beautify the city with funky art and cleaner spaces

For those who visited any of the city’s hotspots on Saturday, it was hard to miss the bright blue murals and funky art that lit up the Geraldton streets and laneways as part of Euphorium’s Do-Over event. The makeover was a way to celebrate small wins and beautify the city in the process. Volunteers from RAC, Team Movement, Euphorium and the City of Greater Geraldton came together to paint murals, clean up urban spaces and bring some life to the city centre. Penny Lane was treated to a striking blue wave-like mural which continued into the laneway beside Stirling Central, while Blue Heelers Square was transformed into a stunning colourful mosaic and night-market destination. There was plenty more to see across the city, with plants, spray-painted art and interactive art being done to bring some life to each area. Julian Canny, one of the brains behind Euphorium, a locally based social enterprise that focuses on community and cultural development, said the event was a great way to bring the city together and make small but significant differences. “What we’re after is not necessarily big solutions. We’re just after quick wins, quick and simple wins,” he said. “The idea is, over a weekend, everyone comes together and pulls off as many kinds of projects and ideas we can. “Everything in this project, there’s about 35 things in total, ranging from boarding up and putting artwork on abandoned windows, cleaning alleyways, weeding, picking up rubbish, to washing shop windows, painting murals, putting up new signage, are all community ideas that are simple enough to do over the weekend. “The city have been really supportive, but this is all community-led. So the idea is just to let it grow from the ground up. Don’t over complicate it, and have a good and fun time while we’re doing it.” The entire project was completed with a $20,000 grant from RAC. “Everything else is just community contributions and donations from different organisations,” Mr Canny said. “It’s less about the money and more about the people and the contributions of those organisations. “Some businesses and retail shops have come and contributed stuff and given their time. City workers have come and worked out how to make things a bit easier and so there’s probably been hundreds of thousands in kind contributions which has been amazing.” To finish off the event, Blue Heelers Square held evening festivities full of food trucks, music and celebration of the hard work.