group mural

Group Mural

Group murals are collaborative artworks created by small or large groups over several sessions, allowing participants to experience the evolution of the piece while enjoying the social, creative, and reflective benefits of shared art-making. These projects are designed to be small-scale, up to ceiling height, ensuring safety for all participants without the need for ladders or elevated platforms.

The process encourages thinking time, conversation, and sharing between sessions, giving participants the chance to reflect on their contributions and witness the artwork’s growth week by week. Group murals can involve a variety of painting techniques, pattern play, and colour explorations, making them suitable for children, adults, schools, community groups, and families.

These projects emphasize inclusion, creativity, and personal expression. Participants of all abilities can join in, experience the satisfaction of working together, and develop confidence in their creative choices. Small-scale group murals are not just artworks — they are social experiences that connect people, foster collaboration, and create meaningful, evolving visual stories.

All of these projects use my Pattern Play Collaborative Art approach — a fun, inclusive process that encourages Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling to help participants of all abilities create expressive, collaborative artworks. Get your free guide to start.

How to make a collective artwork using the ‘Find Your Courage’ mural as a step-by-step creative guide with collaborative art techniques.

How to Make a Collective Artwork: A Step-by-Step Guide Using the ‘Find Your Courage’ Mural

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Quick Takeaway

Curious about how to make a collective artwork? In this post, you’ll see step-by-step how the Find Your Courage mural was created using my Pattern Play Collaborative Art framework.

This is the same process I use in my collaborative school murals, guiding over 60 community and school-based projects with more than 2,000 participants.

You’ll learn simple, practical ways to involve everyone and create a shared artwork that shines — for murals and smaller group art projects.

Underpainting ready for Messy Playing - added decorative patterns and bold shapes over a cosmic underpainting in a large-scale collaborative artwork.

Close-up of a collaborative mural with textured layers of teal, pink, and purple marks created through Messy Playing.

Pattern Play Collaborative Art is a FUN, beginner-friendly way to bring people together through painting. It’s my signature method for guiding collective visual art projects, and it’s built around three simple, creative stages: Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling.

This step-by-step guide shares exactly how to make a collective artwork using that process — including tips, examples, and real-life insight from the Find Your Courage mural.

That mural — 2 metres high and 7 metres wide — was created over five weeks by 20 teen girls aged 15-17. Through shared painting sessions, layered textures, and shimmering details, we built something magnificent and meaningful together.

If you’re curious about how to create a collective artwork that’s inclusive, expressive, and engaging for all skill levels, this is for you.

Planning a collective mural

Every successful collective visual art project begins with a clear intention and a flexible plan. That’s the heart of my method, called Pattern Play Collaborative Art.

In this approach, flexibility is built in — but the clear intention is always to give participants ownership, agency, and ultimately, the courage to try new things. When people help create a mural together in public, they often walk away with a new sense of creative confidence.

Pattern Play Collaborative Art unfolds in three simple stages: Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling. These stages guide painters of all ages and abilities to build up layers, follow their instincts, and contribute freely, without fear of doing it “wrong.”

In the case of the Find Your Courage mural — a large-scale collective painting project with 20 teenaged girls — the plan was simple:

Start with a unifying underpainting – primer over the old mural then tinted primer as our second coat.
Invite playful mark-making through guided collective painting activities – Messy Playing with marks and circles.
Encourage pattern repetition and experimentation with Pattern Play Exploration.
Finish with highlights, shimmer, and detailed ornamentation in the BLING stage.

Teen girls using rollers to apply thick primer during mural prep — the first step in how to make a collective artwork.

Side angle of girls painting a mural wall with tinted primer using rollers as part of a collaborative artwork process.

This kind of planning isn’t rigid — it’s a loose framework designed to welcome all kinds of participation. If you’re wondering how to create a collective artwork that feels inclusive, empowering, and joyful, starting with these three stages gives you a strong foundation.

Art preparation table with paint trays and rollers ready for use in a group mural painting session.

Close-up of prep table with paint cups and house brushes, used in the first step of creating a collaborative artwork.

Underpainting as a key to a group mural’s beginning

Teen girls creating the underpainting for a collective artwork using soft gradients of blue and violet in the 'Find Your Courage' mural project.

Group of teen girls collaborating on a large canvas during a social art project using the Pattern Play Collaborative Art approach.

How To Make A Collective Artwork: Underpainting

Before the fun begins, we create an underpainting — a base layer that helps unify the final piece.

For the ‘Find Your Courage’ mural, we painted the whole wall with white primer using rollers and house brushes. This gives the girls ownership of the entire process from preparation to final bling layers.

Then we painted soft gradients using large brushes and sponges in shades of light blue, light violet, and a charcoal meandering line representing the milky way’s depths. This formed the cosmic background on which all the later layers would shine with our ‘Galaxy’ colour scheme.

Collective painting lessons often emphasise this step as a great way to build confidence — everyone contributes in a loose, abstract way without needing to “get it right.” It’s relaxing and gives the whole piece a beautiful, blended foundation.

Messy Playing to loosen up and start the fun!

Group of girls painting freely together in a large collaborative mural, enjoying the Messy Playing stage. — Layered marks bring energy to how to make a collective artwork.

Teen girls painting overlapping swirls and marks during the Messy Playing stage of how to make a collective artwork. — Layered marks bring energy to how to make a collective artwork.

Messy Playing is all about letting go of perfection and enjoying the process. In this phase of the mural, the girls painted swirls, splashes, circles, and arches in lighter galaxy tones — pinks, teals, purples and blues— layering marks to create texture and energy. I primed the surface with large chalk circles and arches to get them started – this session was called our “Go BIG and Make Your Mark” day. The goal of this was to encourage the girls to really get into the creativity and power of painting out in public on a large artwork. To find their courage!

These kinds of collective painting activities are ideal for getting everyone involved, especially those new to art. They allow for freedom, expression, and a sense of playful exploration.

Everyone’s contribution matters, and because the marks overlap and blend, the artwork feels unified from the beginning.

Exploring circles, patterns and decorations

Spirals and dotted accents painted in layers as part of a large collaborative artwork.

A mix of small detailed patterns and large sweeping shapes in a painted mural panel.

After the first layers are down, it’s time to start playing with more patterns and circles! We did two weeks of circle and pattern play, using the Easy Pattern Play Pages that I have developed to give hesitant painters easy creative confidence. During this stage, the group explored ways to connect shapes, repeat patterns, and build clusters of marks. They ranged across the surface, changing colours and shapes, doing individual or group combinations. It was like they all did a dozen artworks, super-charging their confidence as they created together!

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Simple hand-drawn patterns repeated across a painted background, created in a collective art mural.

Abstract mural section with bold patterned contrasts and blended colour transitions.

Using inspiration from collective painting examples, we encouraged the girls to try new things — like layering spirals over smudges, or repeating a pattern in different sizes and colours, up high and down low.

This is where creative confidence grows. Participants start to trust their instincts, add more meaningful details, exploring their own creative flair. Collective art activities like these go beyond just painting as participants have the opportunity to experiment within the safety of an immense artwork and the safety of a group.

Repeating brush marks in soft pinks, purples, and blues showing a playful part of a collaborative mural.

Detail of painted pattern clusters in pink, teal, and violet from a mural exploring how to make a collective artwork.

Bling to decorate, embellish and finish the collective mural

Shapes outlined and enhanced with paint pen sparkle during the final Bling phase of a group mural.

Paint pen clusters added over galaxy inspired colours during the Bling phase of a collaborative artwork.

The final stage that we call Bling! – is where everything comes to life.

For this mural, the group added highlights with paint pens, including fine metallic paint pens, adding subtle glitter accents. They outlined shapes, added fine detailed versions of the patterns used in the other stages, and created bursts of detail all across the mural.

This part of the process makes the whole mural shine, both literally and emotionally. It gives participants a chance to finesse details and add their signature touches to the piece.

All of my collective painting workshops end with a Bling session, as it helps people feel extra proud of what they’ve helped create, as it’s so much fun adding decorative details.

Subtle glitter accents and personal decorative marks in the final mural stage from a group painting session.

Outlined swirls and shapes in silver paint pen from the final mural layer, enhancing a collective artwork with bling details.

How To Make A Collective Artwork: In Conclusion

Making a collective artwork is about connection, contribution, and creative FUN. If you’re looking for inspiration to try your first group mural, this process can be magical.

The ‘Find Your Courage’ mural is just one example of what can happen when you invite people to create together. With some thoughtful planning, guided phases, and playful activities, you can create something meaningful that everyone is proud of.

So grab my Pattern Play Pages (the ones I used with the kids for this project) or my Pattern Play Cards, collect your brushes and external paints, gather your group, and start painting – together.

Happy Painting!

Charndra,

Your Collaborative Art Guide

P.S. Explore more collaborative mural project examples to see how different groups adapt the process.

Discover simple tips about how to make a collective artwork like this beautiful mural:

FREE Guide + Mini Course: Learn the Easiest Way to Run a Collaborative Art Project

Sign up to get the Beginner’s Guide and a short email course that shows you how to plan, start, and guide your first Pattern Play project with confidence.

You’ll get weekly creative tips and group art ideas from me.

Bonus: You’ll also receive a special offer inside.

Your guide arrives instantly after you confirm your email.
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For schools in Adelaide

If you’re based in Adelaide and would love to bring a collaborative mural to your school, you can learn more about my school mural projects here → Collaborative Murals for Schools

Explore more collaborative murals for schools:

Team Building Art Ideas: Murals & Art Activities for Kids & Adults

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Quick Takeaway

Team building art ideas can transform groups of kids and adults into confident collaborators through simple, inclusive mural and painting activities. Drawing on my experience facilitating 60+ community and school-based collaborative art projects with over 2,000 participants, I share practical ideas using my Pattern Play Collaborative Art framework that teachers can apply straight away. I want to help you do the same with clear guidance and helpful digital resources that make group art fun, manageable, and meaningful.

Looking for Team Building Art Ideas that bring people together through creativity?

Team Building Art Ideas: Murals & Art Activities for Kids & Adults showing primary children working together as a team on a mural in their school that is warm reds, yellows and oranges.

Pattern Play Collaborative Art is a fun and inclusive way. It allows groups to create stunning murals and artworks. This process helps foster teamwork. This process unfolds in three simple stages. First is Messy Playing, where bold marks and backgrounds are created. Then comes Exploring, where shapes and patterns take form. Finally, there is Bling, where finishing touches add personality and detail. These projects showcase the power of collaborative art. They range from a vibrant school mural painted by young athletes to an advocacy artwork that celebrates inclusivity. A layered beauty created by 120 junior students demonstrates its ability to unite and inspire.

Team building art ideas: Soccer Mural

At a specialist sporting school, a group of enthusiastic primary students worked together. They transformed their soccer training wall into a vibrant mural. This was an inspiring example of Team Building Art Ideas in action. Over three sessions, more than 30 children collaborated. They painted the exact size and shape of a soccer goal. The colors used were warm shades of red, yellow, and orange. This wasn’t just an art project—it was a celebration of their sporting spirit. The mural became the backdrop for their daily practice. They honed their skills by kicking or hitting the ball against it during breaks and training. The students took great pride in their work. They knew they had created something meaningful. It was also functional for their school community.

Team building art ideas: “Peer Support” Artwork

Team Building Art Ideas: Murals & Art Activities for Kids & Adults showing a detail of a blue, green and purple painting created by adults with an intellectual disability and their support team. — Team Building Art Ideas: This artwork shows the creativity of a group of adults living with an intellectual disability. They created it together with their team.

“Peer Support” is a collaborative artwork. It was created as part of a networking group for people with intellectual disabilities. It is designed to foster advocacy skills and mutual support. The aim is to encourage a more inclusive society. This artwork is a great example of Team Building Art Ideas. It features a cool colour palette of greens, blues, and purples. These colors are blended in dynamic ways. Deep indigo accents add striking highlights. A closer look reveals the “BLING” stage. In this stage, paint pens were used to add expressive marks. This final layer showcases how it embraces all abilities. The spontaneous, looping lines, affectionately called “spaghetti,” bring a unique energy and charm to the artwork. Displayed publicly on multiple occasions, “Peer Support” has helped raise awareness of the vital role of Our Voice SA. It has also highlighted the significance of the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

Team building art ideas: “Encouraging Success” Artwork

“Encouraging Success” is a stunning example of Team Building Art Ideas. It was created by 120 junior primary students. They worked together across three weeks. This detail of a large, horizontal artwork shows rich layers of blue, green, and aqua. These colors were built up through a collaborative process. The journey began with 50 eager reception children diving into the Messy Play stage. They created bold marks and, naturally, made a glorious mess! In the second session, grade one students explored shapes and patterns, adding structure to the piece. Finally, in week three, grade two students brought the artwork to life. They decorated with paint pens in intricate patterns during the “BLING” stage. The single gold paint pen—our coveted ‘pop’ colour—became a prized tool, adding shimmering highlights to the final piece. This joyful, multi-layered creation showcases how teamwork and creativity can come together in a truly inspiring way.

Team building art ideas: In conclusion

These Team Building Art Ideas show how collaborative creativity can bring people together. Primary students painted a soccer training mural. An advocacy group created an artwork to promote inclusion. Young children layered colours and patterns in a large-scale school project. Through Pattern Play Collaborative Art, the stages of Messy Playing and Exploring are fun. The Bling phase makes the process accessible and engaging for all abilities. By working together, participants create meaningful art while building connections, confidence, and a sense of shared accomplishment. You can create artworks like these with the people in your life, be that family, friends, students or clients. Discover Pattern Play Collaborative Art today!

Happy Painting!

Charndra, Your Inclusive Social Art Guide.

FREE Guide + Mini Course: Learn the Easiest Way to Run a Collaborative Art Project

Sign up to get the Beginner’s Guide and a short email course that shows you how to plan, start, and guide your first Pattern Play project with confidence.

You’ll get weekly creative tips and group art ideas from me.

Bonus: You’ll also receive a special offer inside.

Your guide arrives instantly after you confirm your email.
Unsubscribe anytime.

🎨 Enjoying this guide? Here’s what to explore next:

If you’re excited to try collaborative art, here are a few more helpful reads and real-world examples from my blog:

👉 Four Collaborative Art Examples to Inspire You – See how real groups brought their artwork to life (no experience needed!)

👉 Circles of Connection: An Easy Collaborative Art Project for Groups – A beginner-friendly project perfect for schools, teams or community events

👉 Social Art Projects for Special Needs Adults – Ideas and insights for inclusive, joyful creativity

👉 How to Do a Group Community Painting Project – Step-by-step advice for larger or public-facing projects

👉 Messy Preschooler Paintings into Collaborative Art Treasures – One of my favourite playful approaches for early years

🎧 Listen to the Podcast – Bite-sized tips and stories to support your next group art session

🎧 Hear more about fun group murals and team-building art on the Easy Collaborative Art Podcast.

Group Mural Painting Ideas: Bringing Communities Together Through Creativity

Start Here: Free Guide + Mini Course

Quick Takeaway

Group mural painting ideas can be simple, inclusive, and deeply connecting when you use the right structure. In this post, you’ll learn how Pattern Play Collaborative Art—my three-stage framework of Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling—helps teachers and educators confidently guide groups to create expressive murals together, even if participants haven’t painted in years. This approach is grounded in real experience from facilitating over 60 community and school-based collaborative art projects with more than 2,000 participants, making group mural painting accessible, fun, and meaningful for everyone involved.

Do you want to create a mural with a group of people and you’re unsure how to make it easy?

Discover Pattern Play Collaborative Art!

You want to create a mural with a group of people who haven’t painted recently. Your goal is to help them feel empowered, connected, and part of something bigger. With Pattern Play Collaborative Art, they’ll build a vibrant, expressive artwork together that reflects their shared creativity—and inspires others in the community to start their own projects.

Using group mural painting ideas with three simple stages—Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling—you can guide participants step by step. This approach keeps the process accessible, fun, and rewarding, while encouraging spontaneity, discovery, and joyful collaboration. It transforms a blank canvas into a vibrant, community-driven creation that everyone can enjoy contributing to.

Group Mural Painting Ideas: Soccer Mural

Soccer Mural: One of the best group mural painting ideas comes from the Soccer Mural, created by over 30 primary school students from a specialist gymnastics team. Over three sessions, they painted a vibrant and colourful mural. This artwork serves more than just a decorative purpose—it’s also functional. Sized to match the soccer goals, the mural allows the students to practice their kicking skills while enjoying the energy and creativity of their own design.

Group Mural Painting Ideas: Find Your Courage Mural

Find Your Courage Mural: This mural showcases the power of collaboration and self-expression. A group of 20 teenage girls participated in a SACE program designed to encourage them to take risks and find their voices. Together, they transformed a blank wall into a vibrant, dynamic work of art over five two-hour sessions. The project embraced freeform, guided spontaneity, allowing each girl to add her own unique marks, which enhanced the overall piece. Covering the entire side of the school canteen, the mural serves as a daily reminder of the courage and creativity that flourish when young people are given space to express themselves. The admiration of passing students further fueled their enthusiasm, making this both an empowering experience and an eye-catching mural.

Group Mural Painting Ideas: “Sunny Den” Sensory Garden Mural

Specialist Disability School Mural: This vibrant mural is a celebration of inclusivity and creativity. A group of 100 students and staff at a specialist school for students living with disabilities collaborated to create a 9-meter square mural that wraps around a large concrete round. Students can step inside for a moment of quiet in this cool, sheltered space. It now serves as the centerpiece of their sensory garden.

Over ten sessions, nine classes worked together, alternating warm and cool colours each day. They explored a wide range of process art techniques, including sponging, brushwork, rollers, and stamping with shaped sponges, corks, and bubble wrap. Stencils made from paper, plastic, and peel-off stickers added intricate details, while large suns symbolised the school’s “Sunny Den” origins. A special touch was the inclusion of all the students’ names in a strip around the middle—this not only celebrates every individual contribution but also creates a fun, interactive activity for anyone viewing the mural.

Group Mural Painting Ideas: In Conclusion

These group mural projects demonstrate the power of art to unite people, spark creativity, and transform spaces. The “Find Your Courage” mural showcases a vibrant galaxy-inspired colour scheme, while the “Sunny Den” sensory garden mural celebrates inclusivity. Each project highlights how collaborative art can inspire, empower, and celebrate the unique skills of every participant.

The Soccer Mural blends functionality with beauty, giving young athletes a space to practice their skills surrounded by their own artwork. These murals are more than decorative—they are living examples of the transformative power of art and the magic that happens when people create together. With my accessible group art tools and resources, you can bring your own collaborative mural ideas to life.

Free Guide + Mini Course: Learn the Easiest Way to Run a Collaborative Art Project

Sign up to get the Beginner’s Guide and a short email course that shows you how to plan, start, and guide your first Pattern Play project with confidence.

You’ll get weekly creative tips and group art ideas from me.

Bonus: You’ll also receive a special offer inside.

Your guide arrives instantly after you confirm your email.
Unsubscribe anytime.

For schools in Adelaide

If you’re based in Adelaide and would love to bring a collaborative mural to your school, you can learn more about my school mural projects here → Collaborative Murals for Schools

Explore more collaborative murals for schools:

3 Group Art Mural Paintings to Inspire You!

Start Here: Free Guide + Mini Course

Quick Takeaway

Group art mural paintings bring people together to create something meaningful, colourful, and shared. In this post, you’ll learn how to plan and run inclusive mural projects using my Pattern Play Collaborative Art framework, shaped by over 60 community and school-based projects with more than 2,000 participants. I want to help you do the same with clear guidance and helpful digital resources that make group murals achievable and fun.

3 Group Art Mural Paintings to Inspire You! Showing the Carer Support Garden Mural created by a group of parent carers.

3 Group Art Mural Paintings to Inspire You! Showing the Soccer Mural created with warm colours by over 30 primary school students.

How Do Group Art Mural Paintings Work in Real-Life Settings?

Group art mural paintings are a powerful way to bring people together, inspire creativity, and build community. I call my unique approach Pattern Play Collaborative Art.

It guides participants of all ages and abilities through three simple stages. The stages are Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling. These stages encourage spontaneous mark-making, layering of patterns, and adding final details that bring the artwork to life.

These collaborative projects empower teenagers to find their courage. They offer young people who may be struggling with finding their place in the world a space to explore a different side and connect with their peers in a novel way.

They also foster teamwork among these young adults who crave connection and making a mark, yet hate the limelight pointing on them.

Murals created in this way, with layered, structured spontaneity become a showcase for the transformational power of shared creativity. Plus, they’re a lot of fun!

‘Find Your Courage’ Collaborative Mural in a Secondary School

3 Group Art Mural Paintings to Inspire You! Showing "Find Your Courage", a large mural created by 18 teenaged girls. — Group Art Mural Paintings Inspire Teenagers!

The “Find Your Courage” mural stands as a vibrant example of the power of collaborative creativity, especially among teenagers.

This student-led collaborative mural project encouraged participants to step out of their comfort zones. They worked together in a public space. This fostered a sense of confidence and cooperation. Through painting side by side, the teenagers discovered the enjoyment of creating something larger than themselves. They expressed their individuality within a shared and spontaneous vision.

The resulting mural became a symbol of empowerment. It reminds participants of the courage it takes to create and connect. It inspires onlookers with its message of bravery.

Carer Support Garden Mural in a Specialist School Setting

The Carer Support Garden Mural brought together a group of parent carers. They created a serene and uplifting artwork.

It reflected their shared experiences and the importance of sharing those ideas to help each other. This group art mural project provided a space for participants to unwind, connect, and express themselves through collaborative creativity.

The mural, inspired by it’s garden setting, came to symbolise growth, resilience, and the nurturing roles of carers. Each individual contributed their unique touch, yet the collective effort resulted in a cohesive and harmonious design.

The mural serves as a lasting reminder of the importance of community and the healing power of art.

‘Kicking Wall for Soccer’ Cooperative Mural in a Primary School

The Specialist Soccer Team’s ‘Kicking Wall’ Mural at Ascot Park Primary School demonstrates how collaborative art can unite and inspire young athletes.

The project was created in by 26 primary-aged children from the school’s Specialist Soccer Team. It transformed a plain practice wall into a vibrant celebration of teamwork and creativity. The students were guided through multiple sessions.

They layered techniques including stamping, stenciling, sponging, and fine brushwork. These techniques helped to craft a visually captivating mural in warm, attention-grabbing colours. Each participant contributed across the mural, fostering a sense of pride and personal ownership.

The final artwork showcases their individual and collective creativity. It serves as a daily reminder of the importance of collaboration.

This Vince Lombardi quote reflects the project: “Individual commitment to a group effort makes a team work. It makes a company work. It makes a society work. It makes a civilization work.”

Final Thoughts

Group Art Mural Paintings beautifully illustrate the magic of collaboration, creativity, and community. The empowering “Find Your Courage” mural inspired teenagers to embrace bravery and connection. The reflective Carer Support Garden Mural symbolizes resilience and shared growth. The vibrant Soccer ‘Kicking Wall’ Mural unites young athletes through teamwork.

Each project highlights the transformational potential of collaborative art.

By using the Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling stages within the Pattern Play Collaborative Art approach, these murals become dynamic creations. They represent more than just artwork. Murals become vibrant expressions of collective effort.

They are lasting symbols of unity, creativity, and the thrills of working together.

Happy Painting!

Charndra,

Your Collaborative Art Guide

P.S. Looking for additional examples? Visit the Collaborative Mural Projects Hub for more mural stories and ideas.

FREE Guide + Mini Course: Learn the Easiest Way to Run a Collaborative Art Project

Sign up to get the Beginner’s Guide and a short email course that shows you how to plan, start, and guide your first Pattern Play project with confidence.

You’ll get weekly creative tips and group art ideas from me.

Bonus: You’ll also receive a special offer inside.

Your guide arrives instantly after you confirm your email.
Unsubscribe anytime.

For schools in Adelaide

If you’re based in Adelaide and would love to bring a collaborative mural to your school, you can learn more about my school mural projects here → Collaborative Murals for Schools

Explore more collaborative murals for schools:

New Article: Group mural creation with Painting Around is Fun - Our Soccer Mural (detail) Painted with school kids (primary / elementary)

Group Mural Creation Ideas for Kids

Start Here: Free Guide + Mini Course

Quick Takeaway

Group Mural Creation can be simple, inclusive, and genuinely fun for kids when you have the right structure. In this post, you’ll discover practical group mural creation ideas drawn from my experience facilitating over 60 community and school-based collaborative art projects with more than 2,000 participants, using my Pattern Play Collaborative Art framework. I want to help you do the same with clear guidance and helpful digital resources that make group murals easier to plan and lead with confidence.

Group mural creation with Painting Around is Fun - Our Soccer Mural Painted with school kids (primary / elementary) — Group mural creation with School Kids ages 5- 13.

How can group mural creation inspire teamwork and creativity in children?

At Ascot Park Primary School, we embarked on a group mural creation with the Specialist Soccer Team. Twenty-six students came together to transform their soccer practice “Kicking Wall” into a vibrant mural celebrating teamwork.

Using my Pattern Play Collaborative Art approach, the students were guided through three simple stages:

Messy Playing – creativity flowed freely with big brushes and spontaneous marks.
Exploring – detailed layers were added to build depth and texture.
Bling – intricate finishing touches brought the mural to life.

The result is a stunning, multi-layered mural that the school community enjoys daily, reflecting both creativity and collaboration.

Underpainting – setting the foundation

The project began with a vibrant underpainting that served as the base layer for the mural. Students used large brushes and rollers to apply broad strokes of primer mixed with colour to the wall, creating a solid backdrop.

We focused on warm tones like red, orange, and yellow. These colours brought a sense of energy and motion and set the stage for what was to come. The underpainting not only helped unify the mural, but it also gave students the confidence to start creating without worrying about perfection.

This stage was all about getting the first layer down and warming up the space for further creative exploration.

Messy Playing – freeing the creativity

In this phase, students were encouraged to loosen up and have fun with the mural. We introduced a variety of tools—sponges, stamps, templates, and stencils—to add playful and spontaneous elements.

The Messy Playing stage is all about creative freedom, allowing each student to make their mark without fear. By layering bold shapes and spontaneous patterns, the students brought energy and movement to the mural.

This step allowed their ideas to flow naturally, giving the artwork an organic, fluid feeling—much like how a soccer team works together dynamically on the field.

Exploring – building layers of detail

With the playful base established, students began to explore more intentional techniques. The goal was to bring depth and complexity to the mural.

They used finer brushes and simple patterns, layering these designs on top of the earlier marks to create intricate areas. Subtle details in similar colours helped the patterns achieve a sense of unity across the mural.

The patterns used were an early version of my Pattern Play visual resources, which I now use for every project and offer for sale in my online shop. For this project, I laminated simple hand-painted pattern ideas into A4 sheets and scattered them around as inspiration. Some sheets were also stuck up to give students examples to copy.

This scattered approach encouraged creativity while allowing students to add their own ideas. Every contribution was guided and celebrated, and each layer added more visual interest.

This phase gave the mural its distinctive character, as students worked in sync, painting around each other’s contributions to create a cohesive design that reflected their teamwork.

Bling – adding the final touches

The finishing stage was all about adding extra sparkle and final polish to the mural. Using a dark crimson for pops of accent colour, along with fine detailing, we added the “bling.”

This stage helped emphasise focal points and gave a sense of completion to the mural. Each student’s name was incorporated into the design, creating a personal connection to the finished piece.

The final touches made the mural truly shine. The mural reflected the students’ hard work, collaboration, and team spirit. They were incredibly proud, having ownership of the entire creative process.

Final Thoughts

This group mural creation at Ascot Park Primary School not only brought the students together, but also resulted in a stunning work of art. It transformed the “Kicking Wall”, a space they use daily for soccer practice, into a vibrant reminder of teamwork and creativity.

One of the most rewarding moments was hearing the kids run around the corner at recess, squealing with joy and amazement as they saw the mural taking shape. The students engaged in the three stages of Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling, embracing Pattern Play Collaborative Art.

Through this process, they created a layered, dynamic mural that will be enjoyed for years to come, celebrating both their creativity and collaboration.

Happy Painting!

Charndra,

Your Collaborative Art Guide

P.S. For real-world examples, visit the Collaborative Mural Projects Hub and see how different groups approach mural creation.

FREE Guide + Mini Course: Learn the Easiest Way to Run a Collaborative Art Project

Sign up to get the Beginner’s Guide and a short email course that shows you how to plan, start, and guide your first Pattern Play project with confidence.

You’ll get weekly creative tips and group art ideas from me.

Bonus: You’ll also receive a special offer inside.

Your guide arrives instantly after you confirm your email.
Unsubscribe anytime.

For schools in Adelaide

If you’re based in Adelaide and would love to bring a collaborative mural to your school, you can learn more about my school mural projects here → Collaborative Murals for Schools

Explore more collaborative murals for schools:

Group Art Mural Examples: The Find Your Courage and Find Your Courage Murals by Painting Around is Fun!

Creative Teamwork in Group Art Murals: 2 Success Stories

Start Here: Free Guide + Mini Course

Quick Takeaway

Looking for inspiring group art mural examples? I’ve facilitated over 60 community and school-based collaborative art projects with more than 2,000 participants, using my simple Pattern Play Collaborative Art framework. In this post, you’ll see two success stories that show how teams of all ages can create colourful, fun murals—and I want to help you do the same with my helpful digital resources.

Group Art Mural Examples: The Find Your Confidence Mural Created by Teenagers showing a detail of the mural.

What can we learn from two inspiring group art mural examples?

Collaborative art projects offer a unique and empowering experience, especially for young people who may not yet realise their creative potential. At Aberfoyle Park High School, two recent group art murals demonstrate this perfectly. Find Your Confidence focused on fostering confidence among Year 10 and 11 girls, while Find Your Courage aimed to develop courage and teamwork in another, larger group of Year 10 and 11 girls. These large-scale murals transformed blank walls into vibrant expressions of creativity and encouraged students to embrace the collaborative process. Through these projects, the students achieved something truly remarkable.

Group Art Mural Examples: The Find Your Confidence Mural Created by Teenagers showing the work in progress. — A Group Art Mural Example: The ‘Find Your Confidence’ Mural

A group art mural example: The ‘Find Your Confidence’ mural

The Find Your Confidence group art mural at Aberfoyle Park High School was created by a group of Year 10 and 11 girls as part of a collaborative art project. The goal was to boost confidence through public art. The process began with Messy Playing, using large brushes and sponges to prime the wall. Participants then added vibrant circles and patterns in warm colours. As the mural evolved, they layered accessible patterns and finished with a final Bling stage, using paint pens, glitter, and even nail polish. The completed mural became a colorful and inspiring focal point in the school, reminding students of the power of teamwork and encouraging them to try something new. It shows that they can achieve more than they think is possible.

Group Art Mural Examples: The Find Your Courage Mural Created by Teenagers showing the work in progress. — A Group Art Mural Example: The ‘Find Your Courage’ Mural

Another group art mural example: The ‘Find Your Courage’ mural

The Find Your Courage group art mural at Aberfoyle Park High School involved 18 Year 10 and 11 girls, created to build confidence through a public art project. The process began with Messy Playing, using large brushes and rollers to prime the wall. The students then painted circles, blended colours, and added spirals and patterns. Layers of accessible patterns were added to enhance visual interest, focusing on overlapping and refining details. The final Bling stage included intricate designs with paint pens, with each student’s name hidden within the mural.

The finished mural became an inspiring centerpiece at the school, symbolizing courage and collaboration. Students admire it daily as they walk past the canteen. As part of the program, the girls also earned 10 SACE points toward their High School Diploma, alongside other community-based activities.

A brief summary of these group art mural examples

Both Find Your Confidence and Find Your Courage are inspiring group art mural examples that showcase the power of collaboration and creativity in public spaces. These projects gave students the opportunity to explore their artistic abilities while learning the value of teamwork and self-expression. The resulting murals have become lasting symbols of courage and confidence within the school, reminding everyone that working together can lead to truly remarkable results.

Happy Painting!

Charndra,

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For schools in Adelaide

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