CHANGING negative public attitudes about graffiti art has been at the forefront of Tuggeranong Arts Centre’s street art project that came to fruition this week.

As part of the ACT-wide “Messengers” program in schools, facilitated by the Arts Centre, a giant building mural has been executed by students from Kingsford Smith School in Kippax with the aim of helping them connect with their local community and build self-esteem and pride in local public places.

Sydney street artist “Mistery” has been in the ACT working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at Kingsford Smith and students from the broader Messengers Program to create the mural on all four walls of the toilet block on the Kippax oval. Designed over two days and painted in a whirlwind, it was finished on Monday of this week, just in the nick of time for its official unveiling by ACT Labor MLA, Rachel Stephen-Smith.

The mural is the final outcome of a one-year arts based personal development program supported by the ACT Government through the “Our Communities” grant scheme. Transport Canberra and City Services has worked with Messengers to provide support by supplying paint and arranging permission for the artists to paint the site.

The huge artwork has incorporated graffiti writing style for which “Mistery” is recognised internationally.

Tuggeranong Arts Centre CEO Rauny Worm says the hope is that this project this will lead to increased access to programs promoting legal high quality and innovative street art programs connecting the community and young graffiti artists.

The idea has been to engage youth in an activity that captures their interests and helps them connect with their local community, to allow young people to demonstrate their creative ideas through public art, to help young people build self-esteem and pride in local public space, to deal with problems related to illegal graffiti and to brighten up the streets.

Students from year 6 to 10 have been learning contemporary and traditional arts practices with Yuin artist Brett Carpenter and Canberra street artist James (‘Smalls’) Small, practising  painting (including spray painting) techniques and the principles of Street Art.

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