Canberra breaks ‘boring’ stereotype and builds creative community

By Ruby Becker

Canberra is becoming more popular for arts, music, and entertainment, according to local artists and the general public.

Canberra has been celebrated for recent festivals like Art, Not Apart and You Are Here which showcased the work of a variety of artists.

Artist and University of Canberra student, Paul Licayan, says events like Art, Not Apart livens the city and helps artists network.

“When I first came here, it was not that big – the festivals – but now, it’s growing,” said 29-year-old Paul.

“I think it’s better to compete with Sydney and Melbourne so that the artists won’t leave, just stay here and do their work,” said Paul.

This is a welcome change as Canberra has been called boring and dull in past years by reviewers like Bill Bryson and The BBC.

Canberra arts producer, Adelaide Rief, says it’s great that Canberrans have stuck by the city.

“We’re defensive about it which means we have to do something to prove that,” said Adelaide.

“How Canberra became a creative community is not always that easy to see from the outside, you sort of need to go to a few events and be a part of it see what’s really going on here.”

Ruby Becker went into the city to find out more.