Union Lane gets a fresh lick of paint this weekend as young adults let loose with spray cans and paste-ups. City of Melbourne has given over a city alley as part of their Signal event, hooking up young creatives with professional artists.
Street artist mentors including Paul Round will help the young artists create a public mural in the laneway that leads from Bourke Street Mall to Little Collins Street.
“It’s a good space because it’s a thin laneway that was in a pretty dishevelled state. Now it’s brightly coloured and gets a lot of thoroughfare,” says Round. “If you spend 40 minutes standing in Union Lane, you’ll get 100 tourists through with cameras.”
As a young man, Round would tag illegally, but his girlfriend at the time encouraged him to join a community wall project. “I still have some anti-establishment views, which is probably why I don’t have a regular job,” he laughs. “I stand on both sides, and that’s why young folks listen to me. I’m the middle person between what should happen and what’s allowed.”
He points out the success of similar projects in Hosier Lane and Centre Place. “Melbourne City Council markets graffiti tours and Tourism Australia ads show people walking past street art. They’re always shooting the next car ad or wedding photos down Hosier Lane. It’s great the city is giving these alleyways to artists.”
Round says they’ve had referrals for kids who’ve been in trouble for tagging in the past, or who struggle to learn in a conventional environment, but the classes welcome anyone. “That’s the thing about street art; you’ll get your Toorak rich kids, poor kids and all those in between. It’s a great leveller.”
Elusive UK street artist Banksy has a lot to answer for. “Public perception changes when things have monetary value put on them. They hear about Banksy [profiting from his work] and that justifies it.”
Of course, not everyone’s a fan. “I’ve been painting for about 16 years and every time I’m doing it you’ll get about 100 people come up and tell you it’s good, and you might get one crazy person who hates it. They’re the only ones who get heard. People don’t phone up the council and tell them they love street art.”
As far as Round’s concerned, Melbourne’s vibrant street art scene is one of the city’s best drawcards. “I’d rather see walls adorned with art than just plain grey.”
Street Art Mentoring, July 9 and July 10, 10am–4pm. Entry is free. Visit signal.net.au
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