Mural honours Nobel prize winners Dimity Hawkins, Dave Sweeney

Artwork dedicated to two northern-suburbs Nobel Peace Prize winners will be unveiled this month. They hope it will continue to spread their message of harmony.

Artist Hayden Dewar was asked to do the mural honouring the co-founders of ICAN. Picture: George Salpigtidis

TWO Nobel prize winning Preston activists have been honoured with a mural at Preston Library.

Co-founders of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Dimity Hawkins and Dave Sweeney were presented the Nobel Peace Prize in December 2017 for their work achieving the treaty-based prohibition of nuclear weapons.

MORE NEWS:

RESIDENTS WIN BATTLE FOR PARKING RESTRICTIONS

NORTHCOTE STUDENT’S PILL RETRIEVER AWARDED TOP DESIGN

DEVELOPERS EMPTY BUILDING COULD STAY UNTIL 2021

Visual artist Hayden Dewar was commissioned to create an artwork at the library to capture the spirit of the pair’s ambition to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

The mural also pays tribute to Yankunjatjara Elder Yami Lester, a nuclear testing survivor and antinuclear activist who inspired the ICAN movement.

Dimity Hawkins and Dave Sweeney co-founded the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. Picture: David Smith

Mr Sweeney said he hoped the mural would send an important message to the community.

“ICAN is about taking local action to achieve something better for the world. This is a really important message to send to our kids,” he said.

Ms Hawkins said the mural was “appreciated and deeply touching”.

Darebin Mayor Susan Rennie said the council was proud to honour a “tremendous” campaign. The mural will be opened at 5pm on April 16.

@richardapearce