New Art in Melbourne's Laneways
How a New Generation of Melbourne Artists are Claiming Public Spaces
Deep in the hidden recesses of the Melbourne's streets and laneways, new up-and-coming artists have claimed the city's walls to display their work to the public at large.
Throughout the years Melbourne has cemented its reputation as the cultural capital of Australia. The artistic energy coming from this corner of the world is impressive; with a full calendar of festivals showcasing writers, comedians, filmmakers, dancers, playwrights, singers, painters, designers, and musicians, and with a strong base of emerging talent, it is no wonder that the city has earned its standing as the centre of artistic expression in the ‘great southern land’.
However, it's still difficult for emerging artists to get their foot in the door. As the marriage between art and commerce is always a difficult one, the gatekeepers – that is, the gallery owners, the museum curators, the publishing houses, the record label owners, the film companies – have a permanent grip on who is given the title of esteemed artist.
Free to see
Yet, some artists have taken the initiative and refused to wait to be donned the title of artiste. Deep in Melbourne’s labyrinth of laneways, local up-and-coming talent have claimed the city’s walls as their own. They have put up their posters, graffiti and paintings and covered every space of the bricks and mortar that frame the city’s secret laneways.
The effect is stunning. Grafitti, both tags and artwork, weaves in between portraits of the likes of Stalin or Tutankhamen, posters challenging concepts of gender, modernity, and preconceived notions of capitalism, and landscapes and stencil art used as political protest.
Each artist adds their own piece and they all combine to make a patchwork of a moment of urbanity. There is no gatekeeper, no caretaker who decides who puts their work up or not, how they should put it up, or for how long it should be up. The walls become organic murals of anonymous artists struggling to find a voice and a place of expression in a vocation that can be at best difficult, and at worst, soul crushing.
Some of it isn’t necessarily aesthetically pleasing, or correct, or acceptable. The elements of pollution, cramped spaces and city rubbish doesn't elevate these images to what we have come to know as "proper" art. Something that might be considered good may only be up for a day or so before it’s covered up by another artist looking for space.
But these anarchic surroundings outside of the halls of official art is a natural environment for creative expression. In The Rules of Art, the famous French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu proposes that artists must exist outside of society if they are to capture it. What is evident in Melbourne’s laneways is that the emerging talent is producing work outside of institutional art and it's as challenging and inspiring as any work presented in a gallery or museum.
Where to go
The main lanes to visit are all found in Melbourne’s Central Business District (CBD). A good starting point would be from Degraves street off Flinders Street (between Swanton Street and Elizabeth Street). From there, Hardware Lane appears off Flinders Lane (at the end of Degraves Street). Although lined with cafes and tiny restaurants, there are little corners that display these art works. The main lane to look out for is Hosier Lane also off Flinders Lane (towards Swanston Street).
These lanes are worth visiting to see what emerging artists have to offer. Uncensored and uninhibited, they illustrate the pulse of the time and, what can happen when artists reclaim public spaces to share with and inspire their community.
