Essential Stops On A Street Art Tour Of Australia
Hit the streets.
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Keen to get some culture but done with the galleries? Why not hit the streets instead? Australia’s cities are a hotbed of amazing street art, with more and more incredible pieces popping up in the urban fabric each year.
From hidden murals to spectacular, iconic works, we’ve put together an itinerary of some of the best and most dazzling street art stops in each capital city.
Melbourne
For the better part of two decades, street art tourists have feasted their eyes upon the rotating glories of the Melbourne CBD’s graffiti-laden inner lanes. Wedged between busy Flinders Street and Flinders Lane, Hosier Lane is ground zero: a popular and ever-changing canvas for local and international artists, and a great spot to kick off your wanderings, with wall upon wall of graffiti-saturated goodness (be sure to check out the action at adjacent Rutledge Lane while you’re there).
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Grab a delicious latte at any of the abundant range of nearby cafes and head for more laneway action: Duckboard Place offers a number of larger-than-life moments, while Caledonian Place, wedged between Little Bourke and Lonsdale, is another sweet street art nook.
While the CBD is the pulsing heart of the city’s street art, it’s not the only spot – consider heading further afield to nearby Collingwood for something old and new: stop by Easey Street for burger joint Easey’s five-storey homage to Beyoncé, followed by legendary New York artist Keith Haring’s 1984 mural on nearby Johnston Street.
Sydney
Home to some perfectly Instagrammable moments, Sydney is no slouch when it comes to its street art offerings. Created illegally in 1991 and now heritage-listed, Newtown’s iconic ‘I Have a Dream’ mural is one of the city’s most beloved. Head across to Enmore Road and Bailey Street for another stunner: local artist Colin Bebe’s ‘It’s Like a Jungle Sometimes’, not far ‘Housing Bubble’ by another revered local, Fintan Magee.
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Sydney’s offerings, like the city itself, are a little more spread around, but no Sydney street art tour is complete without a wander along the Bondi foreshore and its south-end graffiti wall – an institution since the ‘70s. So too is controversial artist Scott Marsh’s crafty ‘bin chicken / ibis’ mural along Chippendale’s Teggs Lane. In the CBD, Matt Adnate’s stunning portrait of Aboriginal elder Jenny Munro remains one of the city’s most striking.
Brisbane
From the CBD to the Valley, Brisbane has become a hotbed of great urban art and street murals. Suspended with overhead lamps, lined with cafes, bars and popular dining spots, Burnett Lane tips its hat to Melbourne style in the form of awesome murals – look out for Blu Art Ninja’s waddling duck, which is iconic and cute in equal measure. Claire Foxton’s photorealistic portrait of Digi Youth Arts Director Alethea Beetson on Elizabeth Street is another inner-city must-see.
Out in the Valley, ASIO’s fine art-street art fusion of a Melun, France landscape can be seen on Wickham Street, while Sydney artist Beastman’s shapes and colours deserve attention our front of the 4ZZZ Radio Station on Barry Parade. Drapl & Treazy’s cosmic explosion on the side of Ric’s Bar on Brunswick is another Brisvegas highlight.
The West End, meanwhile, offers more sweet moments: from Blu Art Xinja’s velociraptors on Fish Lane – adjacent a revolving suit of light boxes and Travis Vinson’s Muhammad Ali – and Fintan MacGee’s imposing ‘Head In the Clouds’, to Hong Kong artist Bao Ho’s epic ‘Paladar Fumior Salon’ on Melbourne Street.
Perth
As if the sun, beaches and shimmering coastline weren’t enough to lure you, Perth also pulls rank as the nation’s second street art capital. There’s a heap of amazing murals and must-see spots around these parts, and it’s an idea to kick off the odyssey at the CBD’s Wolf Lane, which is home to a bunch of sweet wall murals, including Puerto Rican artist Alexis Diaz’s iconic ‘Seahorse’. Head to Northbridge afterwards for some more street art action, especially Nick’s Lane, which is home to Amok Island’s ‘Sugar Glider’.
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While it’s true that Perth’s street art tends to focus more on individual pieces that consume full walls, at least there’s no shortage of them. Some require a little effort to track down: Outside Holly Raye’s café in Bassendean, Anya Brock’s mural of her pet dog is one for the canine-lovers. Occupying an entire façade of a local apartment block, Subiaco’s duel mural ‘Kid Koala Playing God’ and ‘Kingaroo’ by Spanish artist Okuda San Miguel (aka OKUDART) is well worth the trek. Leederville’s Oxford Street mural by local artist Sarah McCloskey, meanwhile, is another of the city’s very best.
Then of course there’s Freo, a bona fide WA street art HQ. Check out the larger than life portrait of ACDC’s Bon Scott by local artist Art By Destroy outside the Federal Hotel, the technicolour zebras out front of Ootong & Lincoln, and giant octopus by Queen Victoria Street as a starting course.
Adelaide
With over 200 full-scale murals peppering the city – largely thanks an annual curation drive from the February Fringe Festival’s ‘Street Art Explosion’ – you’ve got your work cut out for you if you’re keen to take in a full dose of Adelaide’s urban action.
The CBD’s Hindley Street is a good kick-off spot, with countless colourful laneways and alleys en route to the East Terrace. Claire Hoxton’s mural on Dawkins Place is a must-see, depicting a portrait of iconic locally born suffragette, journalist, and hot-air balloonist, Muriel Matters.
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With Fringe season coming up, it’s not a bad idea to stay on the pulse with the latest 2020 ‘Explosions’, including Donovan Christie’s ‘Cornerstone of the Community – Comic Edition’ on Sym Choon Lane; and ‘An Accessible Future’, the large-scale mural by artist trio Dave Court, William Maggs and Juanita Klobas.
Last year’s watershed piece from Matthew Clarke on the CBD’s Union Street between Grenfell and Rundle; if not, artist-activist Peter Drew’s iconic Aussie, featuring colorized portraits of yesterday’s Australian immigrants, lovingly posted in countless nooks in and around the city.
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(Lead image: Linda Xu / Unsplash)