New campaign putting Heart + Soul back into the city

Posted on 21 August, 2020

A new campaign has sprouted across Canberra—and you just might spot some of your favourite small businesses.

Highlighting 11 businesses from across the Canberra CBD, from City West to Braddon, Heart + Soul urges Canberrans to keep things local in these tough times.

“We want to reconnect people to the places they know, love and are familiar with, as well as introduce them to somewhere that perhaps they didn’t know about,” says City Renewal Authority Chief Executive Malcolm Snow.

“A great city centre is the heart and soul of a city, and we think our city centre is that for Canberra.”

The campaign focuses on the people behind the city centre’s diverse small businesses—from POP Canberra’s Gabe and Mikhaila, to Claudia and Michael from Cataldo’s—with their stories highlighted in a series of social media posts and editorials across the coming weeks.

Mikhaila from POP Canberra.

While travel might not be an option this year, Heart + Soul aims to show Canberrans that there are plenty of new ways to connect with their city.

“Even in these challenging times our city centre is filled with amazing businesses, run by amazing people who make an incredible contribution to the heart and soul of Canberra,” says Mr Snow.

“These stories will have Canberrans connecting with the people themselves, as well as the businesses. They are about the city centre, its heart, its people and its places.”

Canberrans are encouraged to interact and engage with the campaign by visiting the city centre in person (while practising physical distancing and good hygiene, of course), ordering a meal from a city restaurant, shopping online from a local retailer or even just sharing their experiences, memories and stories about the city centre on social media using the hashtags #cityrenewalCBR and #CBRtogether.

“It’s a closer look at Canberra city through the eyes of the locals who love it,” says Mr Snow.

Michael and Claudia from Cataldo’s.

Photography: H Creations