Helping Aboriginal youth stay strong through creativity

The State Government is helping to promote social and emotional wellbeing for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders with a public art campaign that's just begun across Western Australia.
  • Cook Government-funded campaign promotes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth wellbeing through public art
  • Campaign aims to inspire young people to look after themselves and their mob
  • Murals are being painted in Karratha, Geraldton, Northam, Perth, and Albany
  • Aboriginal youth are invited to work with local artists to create the murals

The State Government is helping to promote social and emotional wellbeing for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders with a public art campaign that's just begun across Western Australia.

Following the social media ban for children under the age of 16, the Stay Strong, Look After You and Your Mob campaign is being painted on public walls and buildings in Karratha, Albany, Geraldton, Northam, and Perth, allowing children to see this important messaging very publicly.  

The campaign aims to inspire young people to look after themselves and their mob, while also engaging local Elders, community groups, and health professionals who support Aboriginal social and emotional wellbeing.

Local young people are being invited to work with an experienced artist to create the murals, which are located at:

  • 17 Sharpe Avenue, Karratha;
  • 460 Newcastle Street, West Perth;
  • 36 Lockyer Avenue, Albany;
  • 2 Walton Close, Geraldton; and
  • 6 Wellington Street, Northam.

The Stay Strong, Look After You and Your Mob campaign will continue to be promoted on social media to reach Aboriginal youth aged 16-25 years.

Comments attributed to Mental Health Minister Meredith Hammat:

"This important campaign promotes the social and emotional wellbeing of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders through the art work's public messaging, and through the creative process.

"This campaign takes young people offline to create and engage with something meaningful in a public space. 

"By working with an experienced artist in each of the locations, young people can experience the benefits of expressing themselves through art and, hopefully, be inspired by what they can achieve.

"I strongly encourage young people who are interested in taking part to wander down to these sites and get involved."