Sleep out for art

By Kath Gannaway
A VIBRANT painting by participants of the Shire of Yarra Ranges’ Young Leaders’ Winter Sleep Out has a permanent home at Anchor Community Care in Lilydale.
The Sleep Out aimed to raise awareness of the increasing incidence and impact of homelessness, both in the shire and on a wider scale.
The painting was presented to Anchor by Sam Ryan, Yarra Ranges Young Achiever of the Year and the Young Leader who initiated the project as part of the night’s activities.
More than 70 people aged between 16 and 25 took part in the event with many taking the opportunity to put their own colourful interpretation to Sam’s outline of a landscape which has city merging into the more familiar rural landscape.
“People could paint a building or a tree, or whatever,” Sam said.
“We had a lot of people coming up saying they couldn’t do art or that they would ruin it. We just said you can’t ruin it, just grab a brush and have fun; and they did.
“It was not so much about how it looks but the message behind it and getting people to join in and contribute,” he said.
Some people included significant words as their contribution – hope, justice, happiness, peace, freedom.
Sam believes the benefits of the project will continue to flow.
“On the night one of the positive things was seeing people who said they couldn’t do it coming back later with friends and obviously enjoying it.
“I suppose also they knew it was going to be on display here (at Anchor) and so it’s kind of cool to think this big painting that I contributed to or to be able to identify that building as mine to friends when it turns up in the paper can make someone feel part of the whole community.”
Carmel Malone, manager of client services for Anchor which manages emergency accommodation for the region, said the painting would not be hidden away.
“We’re thinking perhaps in the foyer,” Ms Malone said.
“It’s such a vibrant, full of hope work which we think, because of the colours, will lift people’s spirits,” she said.