Community anger as beloved ‘We Run As One’ artwork is painted over

The disappearance of a beloved community mural in Sydney’s inner west has sparked anger among locals after it was painted over and replaced by a white wall.

The Rozelle mural We Run as One was inspired by then-eight-year-old Arran Keith, who has cerebral palsy, completing a fun run with friends in 2018.

The work, commissioned by Inner West Council in 2023, depicted the runners across two walls joined at a 140-degree angle, five metres wide and three metres high.

Locals on social media demanded answers about “how this beautiful mural” at the busy intersection of Darling Street and Victoria Road had been painted over.

“A beautiful piece of art gone in a day. The community want to know if this was approved,” one said.

“There may have been a contractual reason, but it seems a shame when it was a great addition to the peninsula’s street art featuring an inspiring local story,” said another.

Occupants leasing the building told the Herald on Wednesday the mural had been painted over about a week earlier, but its removal had nothing to do with them.

Building manager Harold Dakin said the “mural/advertising” was for the previous tenant, Running Science, which had gone into liquidation.

“They no longer hold a lease to the building, and hence their mural/advertising was removed accordingly,” he said.

“Respectfully, it’s a private building.”

Dakin said “there won’t be any graffiti or posters going forward”.

An Inner West Council spokesman acknowledged it had little power to prevent the mural’s removal.

Arran said he was “humbled” when he first saw the mural in 2023. For him, it was a reflection of how tight-knit and supportive his community was and a reminder that his disability was “secondary”.

“To have someone think that much of me to paint that, it was nice, and sort of brought back to me all of those memories of how much this community has helped me and how much I mean to them,” the 16-year-old told the Herald.

Arran, who still runs several times a week and dreams of completing marathons around the world, said he did not expect such a strong response to its removal.

“At first, I sort of didn’t think much of it when I saw it [had been removed] … Then as I’ve sort of thought about it more, I’m like, the fact that people are outraged has been very humbling for me in terms of how much it has meant to them.”

Arran’s mother Karen said the memory of the 2018 fun run still made her emotional.

“He came stone motherless last, but the whole crowd was there cheering him on. It was just amazing,” she said.

“The saddest thing about that mural … it wasn’t just about Arran, it was about all the other kids being able to run with him, him to be able to run with his friends.”

‘To have someone think that much of me to paint that, it was nice, and sort of brought back to me all of those memories of how much this community has helped me and how much I mean to them.’

Arran Keith

Jonathan Fletcher from former tenant Running Science said the mural was not an advertisement and the community had been robbed by its disappearance.

“It’s an absolute shocker,” he said.

Fletcher hoped it could be repainted, bigger and better at another site.

Rozelle local Gav Mork, whose children appeared in the mural alongside Arran, said he could not understand why the mural had been painted over.

“My daughter came home and said ‘my face is gone off the wall’. She was disappointed too, that it’s been painted over with no warning,” he said.

“It’s now a white wall that will most likely be tagged and graffitied.

“[Arran] is a hero of the community, and he should be celebrated.”

Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne said council had not been made aware the property owner was going paint over the mural, “and we regret that they did”.

“Arran Keith is a former Inner West Young Citizen of the Year and a much loved and respected member of the Rozelle community,” he said.

“His unique spirit, determination and joy was captured in this beautiful mural which had become an important part of the Rozelle streetscape.”

Artist Scott Marsh, who painted the mural, said he knew nothing about its removal, but noted a disturbing trend.

“Public art being removed to make way for advertising,” he said.

“They paint over the mural, leave it for a while (until any controversy fizzles) then all of a sudden an ad board will appear in its place.

“I hope that’s not the case in this instance, but it would be just the type of site they would target.”

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