Ok, so I am pretty damn excited to share this event with you.
For the last 6 months or so Dean Sunshine from Land of Sunshine, Fletcher Anderson (aka Facter) from Invurt (who I also write for), Toby from Just Another and I ( Chairperson of Hosier Inc) have been working together on this exciting project. ALL YOUR WALLS is a satellite event for the National Gallery of Victoria‘s Melbourne Now event, a 3 month programme of work celebrating Melbourne art. It is the gallery’s largest ever exhibition, so the association with the event is very special indeed. The NGV have always been big supporters of street art and graffiti as I’ve mentioned in the past.
The project commenced many months ago when Dean was approached by the NGV and told about the upcoming Melbourne Now exhibition and asked how best to represent this fundamental part of art in Melbourne. Dean then approached us and we all came up with ALL YOUR WALLS. Thanks to Dean for the opportunity to be involved in this amazing project.
So what’s the project all about?
Over 6 days in November more than 100 of Melbourne’s best artists and writers (incl. 11 crews) will repaint (sculpt/paste/stencil/etc) the entire Hosier and Rutledge lane precinct. Artists are painting high and low, so we’ll be covering parts of walls that have never before seen paint. The project’s intention is to celebrate the significant role that street art and graffiti continues to play in the cultural life of Melbourne. ALL YOUR WALLS is a great representation of the diverse range of artists and styles on the streets of our city.
The event is being held over 2 sessions. The 1st session (last weekend) was for the high walls, and the 2nd (27-29 November) for the ground level walls. We will then launch the event with an opening party on the 29th from 6-9pm.
The project has been made possible by the generous support of sponsor Ironlak. Also with support from NGV, Melbourne City Council and Hosier Inc.
Hosier Inc is a not for profit, community based association made up of residents, business owners, artists and anyone that loves Hosier and Rutledge lanes. Street art and graffiti are obviously topics of interest but the Inc also focuses on issues such as public safety and upkeep of the lanes amongst other things. Hosier Inc has been undoubtedly been instrumental in the concept behind the project; access to untouched walls is a result of the relationship we have forged with residents and users of the space.
I recently described the lanes in detail after Rutledge lane was painted blue; for anyone that didn’t read that – in summary Hosier lane (and the lesser known Rutledge lane) is Melbourne’s most iconic street art and graffiti location, without a doubt. (Whether or not it was the best spot is debatable, it is certainly the most well known).
The event started by both laneways being buffed completely black. Top to bottom. Again something I don’t think has ever been done before. Five 12 meter Scissor lifts and a pallet of Ironlak were dispensed amongst the artists and the then fun began. (Many people also unexpectedly came and painted low as well, which was awesome).
1000s of people walked through Hosier lane to see the work in progress (Rutledge lane was closed to the public). It was also great to see the great close knit community we have in Melbourne – be it street art of graffiti there is a pretty damn tight scene here. The project is a great representation of the diverse range of artists and styles on the streets of Melbourne.
The result of the next 3 days of painting was amazing. So many great pieces and collabs. Check out some of the pics below.
For lots more photos make sure you check out ALL YOUR WALLS on Facebook. You can also check out the #allyourwalls and #melbournenow hashtags for more photos on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook.
I look forward to sharing the final results of session 2 at the end of November.
Photos courtesy of Dean Sunshine, Luke McManus, David Russell and Casey Richardson/Dreaded Cat Studios.