Year 6 student Noah Yong’s leadership in reconciliation education has transformed a regular white bus stop into a lasting community artwork at O’Connor shops bus shelter.
Turner Primary School organised a whole-school Reconciliation Day poster competition for 2025, with Noah taking first place alongside two classmates who claimed second and third positions. Rather than letting Noah’s meaningful artwork stay within his notebook, they took it a step further, collaborating with Wiradjuri artist Kalara Gilbert to transform Noah’s design into a public mural.
Noah’s winning design thoughtfully represents country, water, fauna and community, with the centrepiece showing First Nations people holding Australia. “The centre shows First Nations people holding Australia, which includes all the different communities of Aboriginal Australia,” Noah explained, connecting his work to the 2025 theme ‘Bridging Now to Next’.
The student-initiated project has created the second reconciliation bus shelter artwork in Canberra, encouraging everyday conversations about reconciliation in the local community. Kalara Gilbert’s additional patterns represent “the journey for justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.”
What you can try: Organize themed competitions that connect to important community topics, then research local businesses or community spaces willing to showcase student work. Contact your local council’s community arts team to explore permanent display opportunities.
See a time-lapse of their painting here!
