KAPUNDA’S famous Lucas Street Mural has won a national art tourism award.

The mural, which was completed by Danny Menzel and a team of volunteers, received the Gold Award for the Best External Mural at the 2020 Australian Street Art Awards, announced last week.

Having been nominated by the Kapunda Community Gallery Inc., it trumped 3D mural and Silver award recipient ‘Jumping Kangaroo’, created for the Darwin Street Art Festival by globally-renowned street artist ODEITH, as well as Bronze winner ‘The Brave and the Beautiful’ by Kirsten Walsh – a mural painted to honour cancer sufferers and survivors.

In commenting on the Lucas Street Mural’s win, the judges said its historically authentic depictions captivated their imagination and really brought it to life.

“The fact that 15 local volunteers pulled together to create this sizeable mural under the experienced guidance of an artist is witness to the pride Kapunda residents obviously feel about the place their town played in forging an economically triumphant South Australia,” the judges said.

“We love that tourists can look into the eyes of people who made significant contributions to South Australia, such as Captain Charles Hervey Bagot and Francis Stacker Dutton who discovered copper in Kapunda and established the town’s copper mine in 1845 – Australia’s first commercially successful copper mine.”

Awards director Liz Rivers said Australia has a long history of creating superlative public art that captivates visitors.

“Until these awards were launched in 2019 there had never been a way of rewarding and supporting places like Kapunda that created these art-related experiences for travellers,” she said.

“The Australian Street Art Awards remedied that shortcoming.

“Public art has now come into its own with the World Health Organisation confirming there is less risk of coronavirus infection in open outdoor settings.

“That makes trips to see outdoor murals, sculptures, monuments and mega pieces like silo art the perfect holiday thrill.”

The Lucas Street Mural took artist Danny Menzel two years to complete and was painted directly by brush onto the side of a stone building.

It forms part of the broader Kapunda Mural Town project, which has realised 13 art installations in the area.

According to a report by the Australia Council for the Arts, arts tourists from within Australia are high value visitors, staying 42.8 per cent longer and spending 55.9 per cent more when travelling than domestic tourists overall.