Braddon Collective's art map to showcase city's talent

George Floyd was alive and no one anticipated hundreds of protestors would be demonstrating on Canberra streets to remember the African-American man's murder at the hands of Minneapolis police.

Yet, the Australian National University sociology and fine arts student was quietly and creatively giving public space to black faces in Braddon, through portraits of her Sudanese-Australian friend.

"I feel a responsibility to inject my work with political representation where I can," Ms Kerehona told the Sunday Canberra Times in May.

"This is my home turf, and I think it's important to start from here and ensure we uplift and support different groups any way we can."

Ms Kerehona's portrait of Sarafina is one of several big wall murals on the northern edge of the city, which feature on a soon-to-be-published street art map of the northern edge of the city.

Visitors to Braddon will have the chance to walks its alleys and streets and learn a little about the art and the people who produced it.

The volunteers behind the initiative, the Braddon Collective, work with businesses, residents and the ACT government to improve the suburb's outdoor environment while maintaining its diversity and vibrancy, according to member Nicholas Seefried.

Mr Seefried said Braddon has changed considerably from when he moved in 13 years ago, to become one of the few truly urban areas in Canberra. "We owe a lot to the local Canberran artists for turning dull spaces into something ephemeral and beautiful," he said.

Part of the work the group does is to advocate for better use of and access to Braddon's free shared spaces, with showcasing street art identified as a way to increase foot traffic.

"There's obviously an appetite for art in Canberra from both tourists and locals," Mr Seefried said, pointing to visitor numbers in the hundreds of thousands at the National Gallery. I'm sure many of these same visitors would also be open to a tour where they can appreciate and learn about street art."

James Smalls was one of five artists who collaborated on a large mural beside Chez Frederic.

Prior to his move to the Gold Coast in February, Smalls ran graffiti workshops with schools and community groups around the ACT.

He said like most cities Canberra has a decent-sized illegal graffiti scene.

But, he said, unlike many cities, Canberra was very good at supporting young artists to find productive avenues for that creativity.

"I've seen a reduction in illegal activity through the provision of legal walls and workshops and more opportunities being provided for young artists to make and pursue art," Smalls said.

"If you look at cities like Melbourne or Berlin that's one of the biggest attractions they have; their art scene and the kind of flow-on effect that it has on the culture of the town or the city."

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Smalls said street art had already begun bringing people to Braddon.

"A few years ago there wasn't really too much going on there and there wasn't really too much artwork," he said.

"When the artwork started happening, Braddon started coming up as a bit of a cultural hub to Canberra and the cafes and restaurants sprung up too."

With plans to update the map as new pieces go up, Smalls said finding passionate artists won't be an issue.

"With the right support and opportunity that Canberra often provides there'll be no shortage of talent in the capital," Smalls said.