Alumni Mural program

The UNSW Library Alumni Mural program is a series of site-specific public artworks by UNSW alumni created for UNSW Main Library. This series is part of a broader strategy within UNSW Library to enrich the student experience by embedding art and culture throughout the Library.

This commission series invites UNSW alumni to create a new temporary artwork which responds to sites within the Library as a gateway to knowledge, information and learning, as well as collaboration and relaxation. Artists are selected for their artistic excellence and whose practices reflect the ideas at the forefront of contemporary consciousness.

With these ideas in mind, this project seeks to enhance the student experience of UNSW Library as a welcoming space with distinct spatial identities, fostering a personal connection with the Library. This commission series highlights the important role the Library plays within the University as a site of learning and community, celebrates the diversity of the student population and reflects the innovation and excellence of UNSW graduates.

Current murals

Make or break

From December 2023 to December 2026
Main Library, Level 6 lift foyer

In Cover Crush, Make or Break (Connie Anthes and Bec Gallo) have spot-lit books found side-by-side on UNSW Library shelves, creating relations that are provocative, humorous, and poetic.
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Past murals

Detail of a mural on a white wall, featuring a repeating pattern of circles, birds, and lotus flowers in green, black, red, and blue ink. At the centre of the pattern is a gilded gold Kufic calligraphy emblem.

Abdullah M. I. Syed

From September 2023 to September 2026
Main Library, Level 7 lift foyer

Abdullah M. I. Syed’s Chahār Bāgh: Garden of Knowledge combines South Asian miniature painting, wood-block printing, calligraphy, and gilding to invite visitors to contemplate and seek knowledge.

A multicoloured abstract mural comprised of yellow, pink, green, orange, and blue pigments

Louise Zhang

From December 2019 to December 2023
Main Library, Level 2 lift foyer

Louise Zhang's Waves of chrysanthemums is rich in Chinese and Western symbolism; larger-than-life chrysanthemums overlay a fantastical imagined landscape of rising suns and raining liquid forms in rich and seductive colours.

Detail of an abstract mural comprised of curving shapes, pale shades of cream and blue, and textured wall decals

Lisa Sammut

From December 2019 to December 2023
Main Library, Level 3 lift foyer

Lisa Sammut's Waiting room embodies the curiosity and sense of possibility of the cosmos, echoing the spheres and stars, constellations and planetary bodies that make up the night sky.