When Canberra comes to mind, the cliches of round-abouts and public servants are sure to follow, not the riotous vibes of the art scene of Melbourne or the cool-feel of the streets of Newtown in Sydney.
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While murals are springing up all over the city, music festivals and fashion shows are appearing, treasures can be found in galleries and more people flock to Canberra, we need to encourage the homegrown talent to stay in the capital to help the city break away from the boring stereotype it currently holds.
There is an abundance of creatives in Canberra; artists, musicians, photographers, fashion designers and more but there is barely any local support for them.
This leads us to the question: why shouldn't Canberra be a hub for the arts?
Some people would argue it is, with an abundance of galleries and museums littered throughout the city. The ACT government gives $879,000 a year in grants to local artists and $230,000 to support art events. Yet out on the streets, it feels like there isn't any infrastructures for local creatives to use. Unless you know where to look, they're hard to find.
More than five million people live in Sydney and 4.8 million live in Melbourne; there's more jobs, more to do and more to explore. Canberra is described as the cliche political-focused city. It's no wonder Canberra's art scene is almost invisible. While Parliament House dominates the sky-line in the city, it doesn't take away the fact that there is a strong arts community in the region.
On June 21, 200 Canberrans attended a concert to protest the city's noise laws, to save the city's dwindling nightlife and protect the live music scene.
The noise laws for night life in the city are just 50dB: the equivalent of a conversation. Recently, Geocon's hotel was approved to be built on top of the new Garema center in the middle of the city.
It's no wonder that Canberrans fear for local music venues and the city becoming silent. If a hotel guest reported a noise complaint, the business would face fines and possibly orders to close, joining the London Circuit club, Toast.
This protest united music lovers in the city. It was led by David Caffery, president of MusicACT and Greens leader Shane Rattenbury. It was an important moment for Canberra and showed the city's passion for supporting live music and local talent when bands Hands Like Houses, Citizen Kay, Teen Jesus & The Jean Teasers and Young Monks took the stage in Garema Place.
Without support like this, venues will continue to close. As local talent leaves, so does passion and inspiration for others.
In 2016 only one in three ACT residents gave time or money to the arts while four in five attended an arts events. In Australia, arts and culture contributed $112 billion to the economy in 2016-2017. A 2015 report by the Australia Council showed 85 per cent of Australians think the arts make for a richer and more meaningful life.
As local talent leaves, so does passion and inspiration for others.
Sadly, if the community-based arts and culture scene in Canberra continues to be stymied, it will affect our society. Maths, science and history are taught as an important part of the school curriculum but as Robin Williams said, when he played John Keating in Dead Poets Society, "Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for."
Passion can't be taught but like a fire, it can be fuelled and the first step takes place in the community.
- Erin Cross is a third year journalism student at University of Canberra
