Crafting Canberra

The following article was featured in the April 2016 edition of Monitor, the University's magazine for alumni, supporters and friends. 

Growing up in Canberra in the 1990s and early 2000s, there was only one thing I truly wanted when I finished Year 12; to be anywhere but here. Like many footloose and fancy-free 18-year-olds, I packed my bags and readied myself for big things - the big smoke, the big city, the big wide world, while waving goodbye to Northbourne Avenue out the back of a big ol' Murray's bus. 

Seven years, four overseas trips, a stint in Brisbane, a year in Sweden, two degrees and two boyfriends later, I found myself back where I started, Canberra. I had become accustomed to knowingly rolling my eyes and scoffing at my childhood home whenever anyone asked me where I grew up, as if I was anticipating (or perhaps encouraging) their sympathy. Everyone knew Canberra was a boring overgrown country town full of crusty old politicians, with little more to offer than Parliament House and Questacon. I mean, everyone had been on those same excursions in primary school, right?

As I readjusted back into my life in Canberra, I wanted to hold on to the perception that it was a city full of roundabouts leading to a whole lot of nothing. I really did, but I just couldn't. New trendy shops, cafes, restaurants and bars were popping up every other week, the landscape was changing significantly and pockets of untapped creativity were being uncovered all across the city. Experimental arts and design festivals! Entrepreneurial incubators! Edgy literary magazines! Fashion movements! Hipsters! Everywhere I went, everywhere I looked, my senses were assaulted with the same message - Canberra was cool.

Braddon's popular Lonsdale St

From the ground up

It's not uncommon for cities to undergo a cultural renaissance like Canberra has in the last decade or so, but this city has distinct features that certainly make a cultural revival more likely. A growing population, higher than average income, a progressive political slant and ample space to grow and create, as well a vibrant higher education community and numerous cultural institutions mean Canberra has been named one of Australia's most liveable cities for the last few years. In terms of higher education, Canberra has also been ranked as the 17^th best student city in the world by the 2016 QS Rankings.

It's no surprise that University of Canberra alumni are at the helm of Canberra's cultural revival, driving bold underground and mainstream initiatives that are fostering a culture of craft, creativity, design and innovation. This, in part, is owing to the abundance of creative spaces and inspired urban architecture which is at the heart of Canberra's urban development and is breathing life back into the city's forgotten spaces.

Al Kirk, a leading architect at boutique firm Nathan Gibson Judd, studied architecture at UC before going on to design the soon-to-be-iconic Yamaroshi building on Mort Street, Braddon. "Canberra feels like it's shaken some of its mediocrity," Al says, "greatly helped by inner city development and moving the focus of our interactions outside the major shopping malls." Certainly multi-use developments like Al's, which prioritise a balance between design aesthetic, economic viability and social interaction are repurposing Canberra's urban landscape to provide spaces for creative community collaboration.    

Al Kirk sits in a cafe under his Braddon office

That's the approach urban planner and UC graduate Charlene Liau has taken with her "guerrilla planning" group, Tone5, which is on a mission to "make a difference and spark debate on how we use space".  Operating primarily in Tuggeranong, Tone5 practises what Charlene calls "tactical urbanism": creating quirky street art installations, including filling the cracks in concrete with Lego, knit bombing, and spontaneous slip-n-slides. Charlene, who last year won the Planning Institute of Australia's National 'Outstanding Achievement by a Young Planner' award, says Canberra is a great place to experiment with creative community initiatives like Tone5 because "the community in Canberra is incredibly open and active. There is willingness to assist and people are very open to new ideas and ways of doing things".

UC alumna, Tara Cheyne agrees. "We love new things, especially restaurant, cafe and food van openings. We've embraced Braddon and New Acton which have gone through an entire transformation. We're generally open to new ideas, especially if we experience them."  Tara studied a Master of Business Administration at the University of Canberra and currently serves on the board of the Belconnen Arts Centre. A former Chair of the Belconnen Community Council, Tara will be campaigning as a candidate in the 2016 ACT state elections.

Tara, who has written about Canberra since 2011 on the popular blog In The Taratory, has been documenting the way in which the city has changed over time. "I think we used to be a city where the favourite pastime was Canberra-bashing - even though we lived here," she says. "There's now a realisation of just how good we've got it. Now that we proudly promote our city, it leads to greater investment and even more cool things want to come here, want to set up here."

Charlene Liau in Civic's Brisbane Place

A city of festivals

It's not just the way Canberra's urban landscape and suburban spaces are changing that's animating the city's cultural renaissance. More than ever, creative and experimental festivals, markets, workshops and public classes are popping up all over Canberra, designed to quench the city's thirst for creativity and cultured experiences. For the last five years, the You Are Here festival has been bringing underground and experimental art to the theatres, galleries and forgotten areas of Canberra, such as empty shopfronts and graffiti-covered back alleyways.

You Are Here managing producer and University of Canberra professional writing alumnus Nick Delatovic says of the festival "the dream is that they walk out [of the festival] saying to themselves 'I'm so glad I live in Canberra', the way I do every day". Since its inception, the festival has expanded significantly, which Nick says is in part because "hundreds of Canberra artists have reached their mature state in the last few years. We have world-beaters in every art form, that's a fact. If people would just go to more shows, they'd see that the scene here sells itself".

An offshoot of the You Are Here festival, Canberra's experimental writing festival, Noted, was held for the first time in 2015. Duncan Felton, the festival's co-producer, studied English literature and communications at UC and says the proliferation of independent arts festivals reflects the energy that abounds in Canberra's creative community. Duncan is also co-founder of Scissors Paper Pen, a literary collective giving young, emerging and new writers professional development opportunities, publishing support and a sense of community for young literary artists in Canberra. Duncan says community collaborations like these foster a "community that's conducive to creating" and contribute to building Canberra's cultural identity. In 2014, Duncan's own independent publishing venture, Grapple Publishing, released its first publication, The Grapple Annual No.1, which includes a "strong Canberran contingent in the contributors list". The flagship anthology recently won the Small Press Network's 'Most Underrated Book Award', a testament to the talent of Canberra's creative writing community. 

Duncan Felton in the foyer of the National Library of Australia

The recurring theme in these stories is the overwhelming sense that University of Canberra alumni are passionate not only about Canberra, but also about giving back to the city through the creative industries, giving rise to a robust creative and crafty local community. This was the motivation for FashFest founder and director of HAUS Models, Andrea Hutchinson. "I aspire to be a big contributor in every way possible to making the creative industry here the best it can be," she says. "I want Canberra to be a major tourism attraction for the beauty and creative hub that it is."

Andrea completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University in 2012 and has found Canberra the ideal place to start her creative ventures. "Canberra is definitely a great place to do business because it's a more manageable size and it's beautiful," she says. "It has a real sense of community and strong connections. It has a great bunch of creatives who enjoy helping one another. They're not precious or protective for the most part. These attributes can be hard to find in bigger cities where everything is so highly competitive."

Creative communities

The strength of Canberra's creative community is that it really is about artists and makers coming together to help, learn and grow together. Creative expression is alive and well across all of Canberra, and it's not just creative professionals driving this movement. On any night of the week you can find a workshop, class, gathering or event that caters to the creative in all of us.

Mikaela Danvers in her Macquarie studio

Just ask University of Canberra alumna Mikaela Danvers, who quit her full-time job as a high school teacher to establish The Makers' Collective, an initiative designed to bring together members of the community to participate in creative workshops, collaborate on artistic ideas, find inspiration for DIY craft projects and generally get people thinking about creativity and originality in new and interesting ways. Of her venture, Mikaela says, "I'd been waiting for something like The Makers' Collective for a long time. Until one day I sort of just got sick of waiting, and decided to make it happen". The Makers' Collective is an opportunity to get involved in craft workshops such as jewellery making, crocheting, candle making and casual craft days.

Considering Canberra is one of the few cities in the world to be designed and purpose-built, it is no surprise the city is one of the country's best kept secrets for creative and architectural expression. A steady rather than frenetic pace, a growing rather than a saturated market, and a real sense of collective identity as to the spirit and mentality of Canberra's population mean our creative industries are propitious for the perfect storm. Above all, the grassroots vibe – both in terms of content and artistry – that permeates Canberra's arts and design scene is what makes it truly essential to the city's creative cultural identity.

Tara Cheyne outside the Belconnen Arts Centre

And for anyone wanting to experience or participate in Canberra's arts community Tara Cheyne says "The key is to simply turn up, and see what happens. Once you scratch the surface in Canberra, more things are revealed. And once those things are revealed, even more things are revealed! I find opportunity often leads on to another opportunity. So take the first step and just turn up."

As for my own misgivings of being from and living in Canberra, I have packed them away for good. Perhaps it's the rose-coloured nostalgia speaking, but the Canberra I grew up in really wasn't that bad. And Canberra today seems to be where all the cool kids live.

Words by Chloe Diggins. Images by Lightbulb Studio

Al Kirk Bachelor of Arts in Architecture (2012); Masters of Architecture (2015), University of Canberra  Al Kirk is an architect with boutique firm Nathan Gibson Judd Architect. He has worked on a number of iconic Canberra developments, including the Yamaroshi building on Mort Street in Braddon.  Charlene Liau Graduate Certificate in Public Administration, University of Canberra (2013) Charlene Liau is an urban planner at the Australian Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development. In 2015, Charlene won the Planning Institute of Australia's National 'Outstanding Achievement by a Young Planner' award. Tara Cheyne Master of Business Administration, University of Canberra (2013) Tara Cheyne is an active member of the Belconnen community, having served as the Chair of the Belconnen Community Council, and currently sits on the board of the Belconnen Arts Centre. In 2011, she started popular local Canberra blog, In The Taratory. Nick Delatovic Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing, University of Canberra (2004) Nick Delatovic is a local Canberra multimedia artist and musician. He has worked on the You Are Here Festival since its inception and in 2015 was the Managing Producer. Duncan Felton Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Communications, University of Canberra (2008) Duncan Felton is a writer, editor and founder of independent publishing house Grapple Publishing as well as being a founding co-producer of Canberra's first experimental writers festival, Noted.  Andrea Hutchinson Bachelor of Arts, University of Canberra (2012) Andrea Hutchinson is the founder and Managing Director of Haus Models. She is also co-founder of FASHFest, a four-day fashion event that is the biggest of its kind in Canberra.  Mikaela Danvers Bachelor of Graphic Design (2006); Graduate Diploma in Education (2007), University of Canberra Mikaela Danvers is the founder and creator of The Makers Collective, an initiative that assists creatives in launching their businesses, and runs crafting workshops and events for the Canberra community.