For decades, street artists have been transforming dull streetscapes into vivid reflections of their pocket of the world.
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To some passing by, it is nothing more than a picture on a wall, a bit of colour in the lesser walked parts of their town.
But to others, to the voiceless, it is so much more.
Artists who leave behind art of some form with pertinent political and social undertones are the creators of change.
Whether on walls or in galleries, research has shown time and time again art influences society and opinions and gives a voice to the politically or socially disenfranchised.
This is what we are seeing in Katherine, a town rapidly becoming a hub of artistic walls that tell important stories of the rich culture that has been vastly disregarded in the past.
Earlier this month, a mural featuring Gurindji Elder and Aboriginal rights activist Vincent Lingiari was painted big and wide across a brick wall on Railway Terrace.
His story is well known: On August 23, 1966, he led 200 Indigenous stockmen and their families to walk off Wave Hill Cattle Station protesting the work and pay conditions and changing the course of Australian history.
Pictures of the completed mural went far and wide on social media - spreading the feat to those who were unaware. I would put money down it changed a perception or two.
Lingiari is just one Indigenous leader now prominent along the busy back street.
In April of 2020, Jesse Bell and David Collins, the artists commissioned by Katherine Regional Arts to paint the majority of the murals so far, spent days painting Jawoyn native title pioneers Robert Lee and and Raymond Fordimail; brothers who led the successful Jawoyn land-claim over Nitmiluk National Park and surrounding areas despite fierce opposition.
The first to go up, in 2019, was a tribute to a story of bravery from the past. The black and white portrait is of an Alawa man, known as Neighbour, who saved the policeman who'd arrested him moments before from drowning in a river.
Order of Australia recipient and Ngukurr elder Cherry Wulumirr, famous actor and musician Balang T. E. Lewis - they are all part of a large-scale project honouring Indigenous figures and changing perceptions in a town with almost no other obvious markers to its rich history.
The only downside is they are not on more prominent streets.
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