A Huge Mural of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Is Now Gracing a Melbourne Silo

An unassuming silo in Melbourne suburb Brunswick has become a towering new mural showing New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern embracing a Muslim woman.

The original photo of an emotional, hijab-clad Ms Ardern was taken as she comforted members of Christchurch's Muslim community, following the March 15 terror attacks on two of the city's mosques. Captured by New Zealand-based photographer Hagen Hopkins, it's since become an iconic image, reproduced in various large-scale iterations across the world.

Locally, a GoFundMe page drummed up $11,000 — in a single day — to fly renowned street artist Loretta Lizzio to Melbourne, so she could capture the image in paint, on the side of the 25-metre-tall Tinning Street silo. Any extra money has gone to supporting the attack victims' families, through the Christchurch Shooting Victims' Fund. Having lived and worked in Melbourne previously, Lizzio is a renowned artist and muralist whose work has appeared everywhere from Vancouver and New York, to London. She donated nine days of her time to creating the project, which was completed last Sunday.

Loretta Lizzio's mural of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is located at 20-24 Tinning Street, Brunswick, Melbourne.