A campaign to make missing people unmissable was launched today by Missing Persons Advocacy Network (MPAN). The campaign features a reimagining of traditional missing persons posters into vibrant stories and images that reflect the person family and friends know.
With over 38,000 Australians reported missing every year, and many remaining missing long term, The Unmissables aims to get Australia’s best storytellers and artists to highlight some of the most important untold stories. The campaign aims to match artists and authors with the family of a long term missing person, to create a piece of art that highlights the missing person as an individual – beyond just their vital statistics.
Loren O’Keeffe, founder and director of MPAN said “The Unmissables is very important work that I’m immensely proud of. It’s the perfect vehicle to make these often forgotten faces unmissable.”
The campaign’s focal point is an online hub www.theunmissables.com.au, which features a stunning series of reimagined missing persons posters, where cold statistics are replaced with stories, and grainy photographs are replaced with works of art.
Acclaimed author Benjamin Law and Melbourne street artist Heesco were paired with the parents of missing Burwood East man,TejChitnis. The launch of this campaign, with a public mural for Tej at the Queen Victoria Market, marks the first anniversary of his disappearance.
Tej’s mother Reva Chitnis said “We just want our son to come home. Not a day goes by without thinking about him and where he could be. The Unmissables campaign has helped us get Tej’s face in front of so many more people than we could have by ourselves.”
Claudia McInerney, Managing Director, Grey Melbourne said “This campaign is the culmination of a lot of dedicated people pouring all their talents and efforts into a worthy cause that’s underpinned by a fantastic creative idea. We’re proud to have played a part in helping Loren raise awareness of these long term missing Australians on behalf of the families that are so deeply affected.”
To Stuart Mitchell,
Thank you for your article on missing people and thank you for using Julie Koh and Jeff Phillips artwork of Rigby. We really appreciate all the help we are given to keep our search for Rigby in the public eye.