Kamilaroi artist Sonny Green, who grew up in Moree, has left a permanent piece of Kamilaroi culture in Vancouver, Canada, having just completed an impressive mural as part of the Vancouver Mural Festival.
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Green, who still calls Moree home, was invited to be one of 25 artists featured in the 2019 Vancouver Mural Festival, held from August 1 to 10.
Over the past nine days, Green has worked throughout the daylight hours to create a colourful mural at 110 W 4th Ave, A&B Rentals in Vancouver, as part of the mural festival.
"I had very long hours, but luckily enough the sun doesn't go down in Vancouver until 9pm and I had some helping hands from volunteers and other artists," he said.
"The sense of community and support here during the festival has been such a meaningful thing to experience."
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Green's mural is called 'Gariya', or Rainbow Serpent.
"It has a focus on community and people coming together from all walks of life to enjoy and experience the art at the mural festival. This is all done under the protection of the Rainbow Serpent," he said.
"The manager of the premises has previously lived in Australia with an Aboriginal community, and it was lovely that he was ecstatic when he received the design."
As well as having sold his work privately through commissions, Green has previously created artworks for the Star Entertainment Group, NSW Transport, Aboriginal Health Organisations and NSW Health for the fifth National Aboriginal Health Summit, however this is the first time his art career has taken him overseas.
He was invited to take part in the Vancouver Mural festival by the curator Linnea Dick, a First Nations Canadian woman, and said the opportunity means the world to him.
"To be a part of such a huge artistic venture and be able to express myself through my art however I choose is one of the greatest things that an artist could ask for," he said.
"As an Aboriginal man, experiencing this, I feel a great sense of accomplishment for myself, my family and my community, by not only paying homage to them through my mural but sharing our long and varied culture internationally. Being able to represent them has meant everything to me.
"The Vancouver Mural Festival is about changing the perceptions of the public's outlook on art in public spaces. What particularly drew me to the festival was that the concept driving it is that art becomes accessible to everybody from all walks of life - it isn't dependant on class, sex, race or ability that a lot of art scenes are foundationally based on."
Although now based in Sydney, Green grew up in Moree and still has strong ties to the area, with most of his family still here.
"Moree is the first place that I called home, I will always have a piece of Moree with me," he said.
In fact, he credits his schooling at the old Courallie High School in Moree for fuelling his artistic passion.
"I have always been an artist since I was a kid, but it wasn't until I began high school at Courallie High School that I really knew that I had a knack for drawing," he said.
"However, I began incorporating my culture into my art in 2010, for myself and to also create connections with my culture and community, and it has been a primary focus in my art since then."