Adelaide artist and activist Peter Drew‘s legendary “Real Australians Say Welcome” campaign is yet to hit its two week mark around the nation—its scope, appeal and support in its simplicity, however, has been overwhelmingly positive and absolutely staggering in scale. At a time when the rhetoric enveloping the asylum seeker debate can easily cause any soul to sink, Drew’s campaign—an alarmingly effective eight syllables—has most definitely struck a chord in Australia. Passing Drew’s posters in the street, seeing them pop up on Instagram and finding myself in conversation about asylum seeker issues in Australia because of Drew’s campaign itself has been refreshing – to say the least.
While Drew’s posters are bold and daring by their very nature, seeing interpretations of that phrase crop up has been yet another positive offshoot of the campaign – a surge in which has come this weekend, after one of Australia’s most iconic design blogs, The Design Files, put a call out for local artists to interpret Drew’s message in their own way, spreading the word even further around the country.
Pedestrian spoke with The Design Files’ fabulous leading lady Lucy Feagins today, who tells us the call out was spontaneous, but one which has seen a surge of over 1000 responses on social media from local talent. Lucy says the campaign particularly resonated for her in the simplicity of its “positive, inclusive and welcoming message”, but also says it’s one that has perhaps been overdue:
“Personally, I’ve been feeling really ashamed of our current government and their lack of compassion for asylum seekers, and just the way certain religions and cultures are marginalised and kind of demonised in general. It’s feeding a certain mindset, and it’s just really sad and limiting.”
While showcasing your impressive brushstrokes is effective in getting the campaign’s goal out there, we also asked Lucy what “real Australians” can do in support of the asylum seeker debate across Australia. Staying informed and having a look into the fundraising, volunteering and campaigns run by the Australian Asylum Seeker Resource Centre are both up there; Lucy also says,
“Never feel like it’s ‘someone else’s job’ to vocalise your beliefs. If you don’t agree with how you are represented by our current government, you are entitled to say so, and you should.”
Lead image via Instagram.
