It will attract Melburnians in droves, but many would be unaware that the most condensed collection of the artist’s work is found far from the city’s perimeters.

Matt Adnate has featured in three of the four Wall to Wall festivals that have taken place in Benalla since 2015.

His most recent piece, ‘Sophia’, transformed the inside of the Goorambat Uniting Church last year.

It was the second time the festival had expanded outside Benalla – Guido Van Helten used a water tank in the Winton Wetlands as his canvas in 2016.

Guido and Adnate were some of the biggest names featuring in the early festivals.

Committee member Alice Grant said Adnate’s original piece on the wall of the North East Artisans Gallery remains today.

“The iconic Burmese girl is one of the three faces from the first year that really launched the festival,” she said.

“His second was an Indigenous boy in town and the third was the church, and we’d love to see him again.

“We’ve had some really prominent names and all of the artists have their own followings, but we’re also really committed to showcasing up and coming talents who haven’t had the opportunity, particularly female artists.

“We have had festivals where we’ve made a commitment to having 50 per cent female artists, as street art is male-dominated.”

There are plans to have another outreach site when Wall to Wall returns in 2019, and with $90,000 in state government funding, the committee has big plans.

“We want to have workshops again, and have community events where people can engage artists like the community wall, which is paint-by-numbers on a very large scale,” Ms Grant said.

“It’s a focus on not just murals in Benalla, but making sure rural villages are recognised – we had Dvate work on the silos last year.

“That was a different project for us last year, but rural towns all over have really embraced that idea.

“We’re definitely pioneers in bringing street art to a more rural setting – other towns have had murals, but not the art of this international calibre.”

In awarding the funding on Thursday, Northern Victoria MP Jaclyn Symes said the festival brought thousands of people annually to her home town, “boosting the local economy”.

“It has reinvigorated Benalla, putting it on the world stage as a leader in street art,” she said.

Wall to Wall 2019 will take place on from April 5 to April 7, with further details to be announced in the lead-up.