Culture

For Wayde Clarke, life has been a beautiful and bumpy ride, but creating art has served as a grounding anchor throughout it all. A proud queer Birpai and Wiradjuri man living on Awabakal land in Newcastle, Wayde’s journey as an artist has unexpectedly gone from part time hobby to full time career. With legions of loyal fans lapping up his brilliantly bright creations, Wayde’s purpose runs higher than just decorating walls with his paintings – he plans to help people through art. Swell writer Odette Tonkin discovers that he’s
a man on a mission.

For Lauren Freestone, her Indigenous artworks have never been more in demand and life has never been busier, but a solid connection to family and country has kept her feet firmly on the ground as her artistic career soars.