Hyper-Local Changemaking Inspiring Sustainability Through Street Art

28 May

Written By BOHIE

In a vibrant Canberra suburb known for its café culture, I collaborated with local businesses and residents to create a mural that celebrates sustainability while addressing the environmental impact of disposable coffee cups. Research revealed that Australians discard 2.7 million single-use cups daily, making them a major contributor to litter. These insights, combined with conversations with local café owners—such as one business donating food waste for composting—inspired a focus on reusable cups and recycling as central themes.

The mural weaves together symbols of growth and sustainability, including mushrooms inspired by fungi research from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to represent recycling and renewal. The phrase “Inspire Growth” carries a dual message, encouraging spiritual growth through sustainable living and the physical growth of food production.

Adding a playful touch, an adapted KeepCup logo featuring the words “Keep Up” challenges viewers to reflect on their role in fostering a sustainable future. This collaborative project serves as both a call to action and a celebration of the community’s efforts to embrace sustainable practices.

Client: ACT Government
Year: 2022
Project: Surface Street Art Festival in design partnership with No Waste sustainability initiative
Assisted by: Fran Ifould

“Rather than making viewers feel bad about their waste, Inspire Growth uses humour and witty juxtapositions to convey its environmental message, helping to overcome the anxiety and apathy that the current issue-based approach to climate storytelling creates.

**Bohie’s public art embodies environmental meaning-making through emotive visual storytelling. Her murals are not just in the public, but for the public.**”

— Excerpt from Street Art as a Vehicle for Environmental Science Communication science paper by the Centre of the Public Awareness of Science at the Australian National University

BOHIE

Based in Braidwood, NSW, BOHIE creates art, illustration, public space murals, and creative workshopping experiences that explore wonder and connection to each other and to the natural world.

She works alongside educational institutions, government agencies, community focus groups and stewards of the natural world to design change-making campaigns for each creative project. Bohie utilises a research-based methodology to find inspiration for her artworks, resulting in 2D images which are laden with deeper stories and symbolic meaning.

This narrative driven conceptual development injects her unique authenticity and grass-roots integrity into the public arena, which she sees as a conscious challenge to public advertising. In a time of rapid change, extreme instability and a globally recognised feeling of imminent threat, Bohie’s art provides messages of hope and empowerment for a changed future.

https://www.bohie.com.au

Hyper-Local Changemaking Inspiring Sustainability Through Street Art

“Rather than making viewers feel bad about their waste, Inspire Growth uses humour and witty juxtapositions to convey its environmental message, helping to overcome the anxiety and apathy that the current issue-based approach to climate storytelling creates.

Bohie’s public art embodies environmental meaning-making through emotive visual storytelling. Her murals are not just in the public, but for the public.”

An Office Residency Fostering Team Alignment Around Shared Values

Celebrating Shared Steps Towards Reconciliation with Sydney’s Leading Girls’ Independent School

**Bohie’s public art embodies environmental meaning-making through emotive visual storytelling. Her murals are not just in the public, but for the public.**”