Time to hit the streets

Bringing creativity and people to Penrith’s City Centres has been reimagined in 2020 with interactive artworks and virtual reality bringing people to Penrith and St Marys in October and November.

Penrith City Council’s annual place making grants program, Magnetic Places, pivoted to deliver a walking trail of interactive artworks that transformed the St Marys City Centre over three nights in October.

Council’s flagship weekend REAL Festival has also taken an interesting twist, this year after the event was cancelled due to COVID restrictions, an alternate month-long COVID-safe event was conceived featuring augmented reality and street art in Penrith City Centre.

Produced by Council, ReAnimate Penrith is a new and innovative program bringing the community together safely to celebrate our City with a collection of creative street art, amazing animation and augmented reality (AR) experiences.  

Penrith Mayor Karen McKeown OAM said Council has received feedback through its COVID-19 Recovery Taskforce that both businesses and the community are eager to see people out and about. 

“Businesses have been hit hard during the pandemic. By adopting stringent safety measures, we can give the community new interactive experiences close to home by encouraging activity in our City Centre,” Cr McKeown said. 

ReAnimate gives the community a chance to reconnect with and support local businesses as the ARtWalk trail takes you on an animated journey through the City Centre. Explore the City’s High Street, arcades, amazing restaurants, cafes and bars and uncover hidden secrets and everything that the City has to offer with a little extra fun thrown in.  

The virtual program has been designed to explore the artworks at your own pace and safely, in your own socially distanced space over the month of November. More information here.

Image: ReAnimate Penrith