Delivered in partnership with Made You Look and OMD WA, a series of large-scale murals co-designed by young people and painted by Australian street artists has transformed walls across Western Australia, turning community voices into large format artworks through the Strong Spirit Strong Mind Youth Project’s ‘Stay Strong Look After You and Your Mob’ campaign.
OMD WA’s media research demonstrated how important it was to invite the audience into the campaign before it even started. Rather than push a message on the audience we invited them to create the message.
The campaign spanned metropolitan Perth and regional communities including Karratha, Geraldton, Albany and Northam.
The initiative places youth-led storytelling at the centre of the creative process—giving young people the opportunity to shape artworks that reflect their identity, experiences and ideas around connection and wellbeing.
The project moved away from traditional out-of-home campaigns, instead prioritising collaboration, cultural understanding and trust through artist-led creatives.
Art shaped by community
Rather than beginning with a fixed creative brief, each mural started with conversations, workshops and shared experiences where local youth contributed themes and ideas that artists then translated into large-scale visual stories.
The campaign’s hero site in Karratha centres around the theme “Connect to Country and Culture,” painted by Brendan Lewis (“Hope”). The work reflects local identity and the importance of cultural connection, shaped through collaboration with young people in the region.
In Perth, artist Adam Cicanese (“Art by Row”) painted the mural “Do What Makes You Happy,” capturing themes of self-expression and positivity inspired by youth perspectives and everyday moments of joy.
Artist Alex Kinneen (“Sugar”) contributed to two sites throughout the campaign, including the “Stay Active” mural in Geraldton, co-designed with local youth to celebrate sport, movement and community pride.
In Northam, Sugar also worked alongside the local PCYC community to develop a mural encouraging people to “yarn to someone you trust,” reinforcing themes of connection and open conversation.
In Albany, artist John Herne (“Miser”) collaborated with youth through the local high school and Kadidjiny Aboriginal Corporation, spending time on country to inform a mural grounded in connection and place.
Across every site, themes of belonging, movement, culture and resilience emerged directly from the voices of young people themselves.
Creative trust at the core
Will Clark, founder of Made You Look, said the project demonstrated the impact of giving artists and communities genuine creative ownership.
“What’s made this project unique is the trust placed in artists to lead the creative process. Rather than prescribing outcomes, the SSSM and OMD WA teams loved the idea that authentic stories come from the community. The murals became a platform for young people to shape the message, with artists translating their ideas into something meaningful for each location,” he said.
“What our research made clear is that impact comes from bringing audiences into the story from the start. When brands co‑create rather than broadcast, the message becomes more authentic and powerful. SPSM’s decision to go all‑in on co‑designed murals has been a remarkable demonstration of this. The campaign is an original, engaging way to break through and truly connect with their community,” said Brannon Heath, head of OMD WA.
Credits:
Client Partner – Emma Bennett
Media Strategist – Brannon Heath
Production / Management: Made You Look
Photography:
Albany: Emmett Herne
Perth/Northam: Jed Lyall
Karratha: Flying Fox Media
Geraldton: Finn Smith Photography
Artists:
Albany: John ‘Miser’ Herne
Geraldton/Northam: Alex ‘Sugar’ Kinneen
Karratha: Brendan ‘Hope’ Lewis
Perth: Adam ‘Art by Row’ Cicanese
