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Street Art for Everyone

2/21/2019

4 Comments

 
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Imagine someone with a spray can, painting graffiti on a wall. How do you picture that person? Chances are you envision someone young, in a hoodie, standing in a dark underpass. Last August in Canberra, the Streetwise Project decided to change that perception and transform a drab public place into something more colorful and dramatic.

The call went out to find people, age 55 or older, who wanted to work on an intergenerational street art project. Two professional graffiti and street artists served as mentors and planned to teach their techniques in workshops. The professionals, both younger artists, would then paint murals with the new group of older artists at a bus station.

The Streetwise Project had several goals: to combat ageism, reduce stereotypes about graffiti and street artists, and give an intergenerational experience to older people, to bring them into the community and lessen feelings of isolation.

A few months later, 35 enthusiastic people, all over the age of 55, attended three workshops. Calling themselves the Silver Sprayers, they were passionate and inspired to paint. The result can be seen in the wonderful, quirky murals at the Woden Bus Interchange.
The Silver Sprayers all loved their first experience in making street art, and the public’s reaction was overwhelmingly positive. Since the project is ongoing, the group is hoping to paint more in Narrabundah, another suburb of Canberra. Next stop, Narrabundah!
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4 Comments
Diane
2/21/2019 02:31:38 am

Love this post! Especially the ‘Old age is no place for cissies’ Is that spelled correctly? Another same language but different countries challenge for the English language?

Reply
Rose
2/21/2019 12:00:31 pm

I assumed it was just a misspelling, and when I looked it up, I discovered that the Australian spelling is "sissies," the same as the U.S. spelling. However, "cissies" is a British variant, and it was spelled that way in the UK before the 1970s. Since the Silver Sprayers are a group of older people, with at least a couple in their 80s, I wonder if one of them learned the British spelling. Thanks as always for reading and commenting!

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Bob
2/21/2019 05:28:41 am

Great artwork. I guess the young street artist do get old but I know of no one living in my community of 55 and older that admitted to being a former street artist. Narrabundah sounds like it should be in Africa. Is that a real town in Australia?

Reply
Rose
2/21/2019 01:27:33 pm

Yes, Narrabundah is a suburb of Canberra. The name comes from the Ngunnawal (an indigenous people) word that means "bird of prey." Thanks for reading and commenting!

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    Rose Ciccarelli is an American writer and editor living in Canberra, Australia.

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