Until four years ago, Callum Hotham, a stonemason by trade, had never picked up a spray can. Today, the 29-year-old has become one of the most recognizable artists in Bathurst, a city renowned for its motor racing heritage. Through a series of murals, Hotham is transforming the cityscape, bringing new life to its streets.
In just three years, his vibrant artworks have adorned the walls of approximately 25 schools, businesses, and sports clubs. Known by his artistic signature, CALUM, Hotham describes the experience of imprinting the community’s faces across the city as humbling. “I was a little kid here,” Hotham reflects, highlighting his deep connection to Bathurst.
Revitalizing a ‘Dead’ City Centre
The transformation began when retired real estate agent Peter Rogers sought to rejuvenate Bathurst’s city center. “I’m trying to improve our CBD — I believe Bathurst is dead,” Rogers stated. To achieve this, he enlisted the talents of the self-taught artist.
Inspired by a massive brick wall, 50 meters wide and 10 meters high, Hotham set to work. Three months later, he had turned the side of an old department store, once a hub for clothing workers from the region’s historic gold mines, into a vibrant mural reflecting the town’s storied past.
“Now we’re getting people from all over Australia coming to look because it’s actually on the Silo Art Trail,” Rogers explained. “I commissioned it to try and set it off to get other people interested in doing murals in town.”
The Journey of a Self-Taught Artist
Hotham’s journey into art was unconventional. During the COVID-19 lockdown in Sydney, he found inspiration in the city’s street art. “It was just perfect timing to pick something up because I wasn’t really doing too much else,” he recalls. Transitioning from pens to paints to spray cans, Hotham discovered a passion for the technical challenges of spray painting.
“I just fell in love with painting with spray cans because there’s such a technical side to it,” he explains. “It’s not that you’re just getting better at painting, you’re also getting better at controlling the can, which I’m really fascinated by.”
Hotham honed his skills in Sydney, painting for businesses in the city’s west, including at NRL star Nathan Cleary’s brewery, before returning to his roots in Bathurst.
Artistic Impact and Growing Demand
The demand for Hotham’s work has surged, with projects lining up. “[Peter Rogers] really sparked the momentum … it made people realize what was possible for the town,” Hotham acknowledges.
One of his most personal works is a mural of Bob Clancy, the “lovable” founder of the Bathurst City Colts, on the wall of Hotham’s childhood cricket club. “He’s such a lovely fella and everyone knows him for that … I wanted him to have a slight grin because that just gives off his character,” Hotham shares.
Local businessman Kyle Keen, whose butcher shop sits on the road leading to the Bathurst 1000, also commissioned a mural to reflect the city’s racing identity. Keen hopes the artwork will attract tourists and brighten the days of his regular customers.
“The amount of people who come through the shop every day and say how lovely it looks, it’s just so good,” Keen says.
Community and Cultural Significance
Maryanne Jaques from the organization ArtsOutWest describes Hotham as an “exciting” artist, not just because he is from Bathurst, but also due to his self-taught background. “If he was painting a couple of hundred years ago, he’d be the guy that you would hire to get your portrait painted if you were very rich,” she notes.
Jaques believes that businesses can benefit from advertising while providing public art that enriches the community. “Every time he does a new work, I have seen so, so many comments on social media from locals who are celebrating that and championing someone from their community,” she adds.
Hotham expresses deep gratitude for the positive response to his work. “The amount of people the work impacts, it’s so much bigger than me. I just hope people appreciate it and it makes their day better,” he concludes.
