Paintings of Jacinda Ardern to feature on Melbourne skyline

Paintings of Jacinda Ardern hugging a Muslim woman after the Christchurch mosque shootings will feature on Melbourne's skyline in a community-funded art project.

Images of the New Zealand PM wearing a headscarf in solidarity with Muslims after the March 15 massacre have featured prominently around the world.

The world's tallest building - the 829m-high Burj Khalifa in Dubai - lit up with the photo in praise of her compassionate response to the shootings.

Melbourne locals have now raised more than A$11,000 ($11,750) to have street artist Loretta Lizzio paint images of Ardern's embrace on the side of 23-metre silos in the suburb of Brunswick.

Tamara Veltre, who organised the funding campaign, said Ardern "led the world after the shootings".

"Her complete embrace of the Islamic community, and in fact of all New Zealanders as part of a whole that can never be divided by hate, has been both beautiful and powerful to witness," Veltre said on the Gofundme site, which raised the money.

"We want this message, this moment in time, remembered. We want to learn from it, we want it to hold us up, to strengthen us. We want everyone to know we are them, that they are us and, that we are, and always will be, stronger together," she said.

"Our community is a place made up of many cultures and many faiths. It is rich because of it's diverse history and community. It is a place that had its heart broken on the day of the Christchurch shootings".

Lizzio is donating her time for the project and the funds will be used to get her to Melbourne and pay for accommodation.

It will also pay for a cherry picker and other equipment to create the artworks.

Veltre said the silo's owner, as well as agreeing to the project, had offered to pay for electricity to light up the paintings at night.