Peter Drew

Peter Drew (born 1983) is an Australian artist, activist, writer, and filmmaker. He is best known for his posters and street art, in particular his "Aussie" series of posters, first posted in 2016. Apart from their placement on walls in city streets, his posters are held in galleries and libraries around Australia. His other poster campaigns have included "Stop the Boats"; "Real Australians Say Welcome" (2015); and "Hugs" (2020–21). His art is also held in public galleries and has featured in exhibitions. His public art has received mixed reactions, and he likes to engage with those who have a negative reaction to it. In April 2026, Drew reprised his 2016 project, sticking up copies of his 2016 "Aussie" series of posters around the country.

Early life and education Peter Drew was born in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1983. He was raised in a "somewhat conservative" family, and initially disliked political art. As a child, he loved taking risks, such as going into abandoned buildings, and climbing buildings.

He started studying accountancy, but soon dropped out. He spent some time doing little, then enrolled to study psychology and philosophy at university, in a bit to understand the world, and himself. While studying, he started experimenting with art, first painting on canvas, but there was not much of a market for art at that time. He then turned to street art and graffiti, taught by a housemate, before starting to created handmade screen-printed posters.

Career Drew has started practising as an artist in 2006, and has also published works on visual arts since 2009. The wording was inspired by words in the national anthem, "Advance Australia Fair": "For those who've come across the seas, We've boundless plains to share. With courage let us all combine, to Advance Australia Fair".

Drew's first posters were of Monga Khan, Drew chose his image as "a man who was visibly a Muslim, and heroic", following a wave of Islamophobia in Australia following the Lindt Cafe siege. The book launch took place at The Boroughs bookstore in East Brunswick, Melbourne, on 15 March 2016.

He followed up with looking for images in the archive showing people who evoked empathy, in particular children, which reflected "sorrow and heartbreak". He says that he wanted to show the absurdity of the idea that such people are a threat, and that they had to have special exemption papers based on their perceived race. His aim is to invoke curiosity in people observing the posters on walls as they walk or drive past, leading to the question "Who is that person?".

In 2018, Drew appeared on a panel discussing national identity at the Adelaide Festival of Ideas.

In 2019, Drew published a memoir, entitled Poster boy : a memoir of art and politics. The book was launched at Imprints Bookshop in Hindley Street, Adelaide, on 7 August 2019.

In 2020 Drew created a poster for the South Australia Nature Festival, picturing Boomer Beach at Port Elliot.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia (2020–21), Drew created his "Hugs" series of posters, offering with symbols and words of hope. He sent the posters to anyone anywhere "who had a wall to paste them up on".

In early 2025, Drew created a series of self-portraits, for an exhibition called The Narcissist, shown at Peter Walker Fine Art in Adelaide in March. He had previously undergone a "self-transformation" by undertaking bodybuilding exercises, which he had posted on Instagram, evoking a range of responses from his followers. He said that his purpose in doing this was "to gently raise the question: do you think this culture of activism has an element of narcissism?" One set were put up on the Bondi Art Wall at Bondi Beach.

Meaning and impact According to Drew:

In September 2025, Gurmesh Singh, a National Party MP in the Parliament of NSW, announced in parliament that he had contacted Drew after seeing one of his posters. He had looked in the archives and found a photograph of his great-grandfather, an Indian farmer who settled on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales in the late 1800s. Singh said that it distressed him and many others in the Indian Australian community to see Drew's posters being torn down. He has said "Typically, we react with fear and anger towards the sort of people who tore down the posters, but I think they are lost and in need of help". He said that the reaction at the March for Australia rallies gave him the impetus to produce more posters. He says of his art: "If it didn't upset anybody, then it wouldn't really have any bite to it. But to be honest, I still want to win over those people who don't agree with my work". Drew, referring to this reaction, said "There's a real sort of angry nihilism to it... They're just wanting to get under people's skin". doubling the number he had around a year earlier.

In 2020, an exhibition entitled Flags 1 was held at AGSA, with works featuring the Australian flag blended with photographs from the NAA. In May–June 2022, an exhibition of Drew's works entitled Flags 2 was held at the Jan Murphy Gallery in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane.

An exhibition entitled Aussie: Posters by Peter Drew was held at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra from 11 May to 24 September 2023. Museums Victoria (including the NGV), Art Gallery of New South Wales, QAGOMA, and the Victorian Immigration Museum.

Personal life Drew's birth family holds conservative beliefs. His younger brother wore a MAGA cap to the family Christmas celebrations, while his elder brother lived with his parents and "spends his days as an online troll".

He married Julie.

Publications

Footnotes