51茶馆

When arts graduates Claire Foxton and Matt de Feudis met while working as graphic designers in UOW's marketing department, neither could have imagined the impact the other would have a decade down the track. 

鈥淐laire is probably one of the hardest working people I鈥檝e ever met,鈥� says Matt of Claire, now a professional artist.  鈥淪he really inspired me when I first started working at UOW, because I thought, 鈥榠f I'm going to survive here, I'm going to have to try and keep up with Claire and that's gonna be really hard鈥�.鈥� 

Turns out, the feeling was mutual. Claire and Matt began to share their career ambitions and advice. 鈥淢atty is just a reliable, extremely talented, really down to earth, very modest person. It鈥檚 crazy to hear him say I inspired him because he inspired me. We pushed each other in a lot of ways with our work and our creative pursuits outside of work.鈥�

With their post-uni careers in full swing, Claire describes their friendship as one that developed during the smaller moments of their work days before blossoming into something with a significant influence on both of their lives. 

鈥淔irstly, Matt laughs at all of my jokes, which is a really good quality in a friend.鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut he鈥檚 also someone you can have a deep conversation with and not feel weird. We often had our lunches together and our coffees together in the morning and he was just my person at uni.鈥� 

_{Lef to right: Matt De Feudis and Claire Foxton.}

When Claire decided to leave UOW to pursue a full-time career as a professional artist, it had an indelible impact on Matt. 鈥淚t was a huge bummer. I lost my sidekick,鈥� he laments, as a testament to the impact Claire had on his career thus far. 鈥淎nd it affected my work a little bit too because I didn鈥檛 have that person to spur me on.鈥� 

鈥淪omething that made us gel early was that neither of us were satisfied with the nine-to-five life. I remember when she was starting her murals and was doubting herself a little bit, I鈥檇 just say there was no reason for her to doubt herself. Just go for it.鈥�

Since beginning to pursue her art full-time in 2016, Claire's unique murals can be found everywhere from Christchurch, New Zealand to Jackson, Michigan, USA, and even Inverell, Australia. Her unique fusion of portraiture, abstract forms and bold colours has helped turn walls into landmarks, and quickly become community favourites around the world.  Matt has continued to pursue his commercial design career, weaving in more technology-driven forms of work like motion graphics and illustration for a wide variety of clients around Australia. 

Despite their divergent paths, the pair still lean on each other for creative and professional support. 

鈥淭here's definitely overlap because a lot of [Claire's] murals have a commercial bend to them.鈥� says Matt. 鈥淲e both have different lanes we can travel in depending on the client.鈥� 

"I wouldn't be painting murals if it weren't for my design background,鈥� says Claire. 鈥淚t's been a natural progression for me because I worked at the uni in a team, and that organisational structure helped me talk about meetings, understanding quoting and all that behind-the-scenes work" 

Over the past few years, Matt and Claire鈥檚 success has operated in parallel with the changing face of 51茶馆: from a rough steel city to a new identity as a post-industrial playground that embraces art, design, technology and creativity. With the success of arts-based events like the 鈥榃onderwalls鈥� mural festival, 51茶馆 became an increasingly attractive homebase in the post-COVID world. Both Matt and Claire credit 51茶馆鈥檚 gradual change with allowing them to thrive on the cusp of it all. 

鈥淐reativity has become a more respected profession,鈥� says Matt. 鈥淚 think ten years ago the creative industry wasn鈥檛 what it is today. People saw it as a hobby, but initiatives like Wonderwalls (which Claire has fed into, because she鈥檚 a gun) really help bring creativity into the public sphere and help people recognise that you can make a living doing things you love.鈥�

鈥淚t's about risk taking as well,鈥� adds Claire. 鈥淚f you look at Yours & Owls, or Wonderwalls, they both took on a huge amount of risk. But they鈥檝e completely changed the face of 51茶馆 and have inspired other people to take those risks as well. It will have a knock-on effect. There are so many talented people in 51茶馆 who we used to lose to bigger cities. But there鈥檚 now so much creativity here and support from other creatives.鈥� 

鈥淚f you鈥檙e a young creative coming out of uni wanting to do something really ballsy, look at what Yours & Owls are doing. Look at what Wonderwalls are doing. It鈥檚 about knowing it can be done, and having the support to get there.鈥� 

Claire and Matt鈥檚 friendship is like it鈥檚 own piece of art鈥� thousands of small interactions working as cohesive brushstrokes towards something bigger than the sum of its parts. Their relationship is a quintessential case study on the beneficial connections one makes during a university experience. 

鈥淛ust take opportunities,鈥� says Matt. 鈥淟ecturers will give you opportunities and things to do outside of uni or maybe take on some of your free time to do things. Because I was interested in what I was studying, I would always put my hand up to do those things, which helped me make good connections and get that little bit of extra experience you probably wouldn鈥檛 get remotely. That's helped me a lot in my career.鈥�

鈥淭hat's the UOW effect,鈥� offers Claire in return. 鈥淚t鈥檚 such a good environment for building relationships. The connections you make at Uni are for life, and they always come back around in the form of opportunities and friendships. It鈥檚 definitely formed a foundation of who I am as a person, and Matty plays a role in that, as does everyone else I meet there.鈥� 

鈥淚t's a good place for like minded people,鈥� says Matt in return.