Street art unites new migrants in Australia

Four leading Australian street artists have joined forces with nearly 300 newly arrived refugees and migrants to create a series of murals aimed at jolting perceptions in a country where migration has polarised public sentiment.

Depicting treasured objects that the refugees took with them, words expressing their feelings about migration and images inspired by the landscape of their countries, the murals in the heart of Sydney’s financial district were unveiled last week.

Australian criminal lawyer-turned street artist, Kaff-eine, said the project was designed to highlight similarities between refugees and their host communities in an effort to dispel growing suspicion of migrants in the country.

“This distrust of the ‘other’, the fetishisation of difference, the obsession with religion, skin colour, accent, culture… it isn’t just happening in Australia, it is everywhere,” she said.

Border security and immigration are hot political issues in Australia that have swayed past elections and led to a policy of indefinite detention for anyone who attempts to make it to the country by boat.

Australia’s tough pointsbased migration system and offshore detention policies have polarised the nation and drawn international attention with political leaders such as US.

President Donald Trump supports the stance and human rights groups criticise it.

The four artists, including Brad Eastman (aka Beastman), Regan Tamanui (aka Haha) and Ben Frost, organised workshops with recently arrived young people from Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Iraq and South Sudan among others.

Despite shyness and vast cultural and language differences, the migrants united in a common goal, Kaffeine said.

“They said, ‘We are all in Australia together now and our stories have a commonality’,” she said. “It is much harder for us to be angry at someone if you find our similarities.”