Stop 1.
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Following federation in 1901, active measures were taken to ensure as much as possible, the removal of non-white people from the continent in order to preserve the racial purity of what exceedingly became a ‘white-nation’. These measures materialized in the form of state policy and included the infamous White Australia Policy. The fact that it is uncommon to see people of indigenous background in urban settings attests to the lasting legacies of discriminatory policies of this kind. These details provide the historical context for Adnate’s mural in Hosier lane. This oversized mural of an indigenous boy, which he painted in 2014, is a reassertion of indigenous presence in predominantly white pubic spaces; in the words of Adnate himself, “it is about them reclaiming what was taken from them”. I am particularly fond of this mural because it highlights the role of street art in political activism. Moreover, I think the use of street art to raise awareness about the plight of indigenous people, as well as other disenfranchised and disaffected groups is efficient due to the accessible and universal nature of street art.