Aperçu du sujet
Documment 1 The young refugeees maaking bbeautifuul muraals toggether Kagi Koowa paintinng a murall. “I’ve alwways beenn interested in art, off course, since I wass a kid, butt I just nevver thoughtt that I coould be abble to paint.” Kowa iss one of 3000 newly aarrived miggrants and refugees, aged
Documment 1 The young refugeees maaking bbeautifuul muraals toggether Kagi Koowa paintinng a murall. “I’ve alwways beenn interested in art, off course, since I wass a kid, butt I just nevver thoughtt that I coould be abble to paint.” Kowa iss one of 3000 newly aarrived miggrants and refugees, aged betwween 15 annd 24, whoo have taaken part in the Harmony Artt Collectivee project, creating aa collectionn of large-- 5 scale mmurals in SSydney with the assisstance of tthe high-profile conteemporary and streett artists Beastman (Brad Eastman), Haha (Regaan Tamanuui), Ben Frost and KKaff-eine –– and, beeyond that, creating aa community. Kaff-einne, who raan workshoops1 in Woollongong aand Blackttown was moved by the sheerr joy andd positivity that thee studentss brought to the prrogram. “EEven thouugh they’dd 10 experieenced a lot of discrimmination and some cchallengess here, they had so mmuch lovee for [Australia],” she tells Guuardian Auustralia. “It must be aa really coomplex possition for aa lot of thhese youngg people, tthat they’ve got suchh love for wwhere theyy’re from annd love forr where tthey are noow.” The woorkshops ggave particcipants thee opportuniity to meett other youung peoplee in similarr 15 circumsstances aand make new friends, but it also gaave them space too expresss themseelves, andd communnicate in ways thaat transcended langguage and culturall differennce. 1 workshhops: classess 19AN1TTEMLR3 Paage : 2/8 It was partly street art – in particular, the Indigenous murals that she saw brightening up the train stations around her new home in Queensland2 – that inspired Kowa to begin 20 painting: “I found a similarity between the two – between African art and Aboriginal art,” she says. Making the transition from Africa to Australia was hard, and the art was therapeutic. “It was a lonely time, it was a difficult time,” she says. “We’d just moved and settling in was a bit difficult. We didn’t have friends, we didn’t have much to do… I got lost in my time 25 just painting. I would stay up until 3 a.m. painting. My sisters would get so worried!” Kowa’s budding talent was spotted by one of her teachers at Tafe3, who connected her to an art community in Ipswich. Within three months of picking up a paintbrush, she had secured her own solo exhibition. Kaff-eine believes street art has much to offer new artists because it is inherently 30 democratic: “You don’t need formal training. You don’t