Yooralla clients bringing the community together through art

Yooralla partnered with Whitehorse City Council to bring a placemaking project to life in Box Hill.

More than 30 Yooralla clients worked to create an interactive storyboard mural that was displayed at Box Hill Mall over three weeks in July.

Mike McDermott, Yooralla’s Service Innovation Manager, Community Services, who managed the project, said its aim was to promote inclusion and raise awareness about people with disability who are part of the Box Hill community.

“There is a vibrant mix of people and cultures that make up Box Hill, and included in this mix, is a community of people with disability. The mural aimed to demonstrate what people with disability can do and highlight that people with disability can be creators and artists, as well as being an important part of the community,” he said.

The artwork for the project was created by Yooralla clients as part of an arts program offered through Yooralla’s Community Hubs.

The final product was a three-sided interactive storyboard that featured a mixture of art (screen-printing) and technology (touchscreens and electric paint) to tell the stories of people with disability who visit, shop, and travel through Box Hill Mall and to celebrate diversity and accessibility.

Mike said the mural was a success, bringing the community together.

“Placemaking is an opportunity for the community to come together and engage with what is in their community that they may not have known or thought of,” he said.

The project was funded through the Whitehorse City Council’s inaugural ‘This Space, Your Place’ placemaking grant.

Placemaking is the process of creating public spaces that bring people together and reflect the local community.

Watch a video of Mike talking about the project.