The Schrinner Council will be delivering two new street art walls to make art in Brisbane even better.
The newest suburban street art wall is now live at Stanton Road West, Tingalpa after the introduction of Council’s first-ever street art wall last year in Ekibin Park East, Greenslopes.
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the initiative has been positively received by the city’s arts community.
“Brisbane is renowned for our enviable outdoor lifestyle and converting unattractive public spaces into street art murals is just another way we can help make Brisbane even better,” Cr Schrinner said.
“Street art walls encourage budding and established street artists to express their creativity in a space for everyone to admire and enjoy.
“It’s clear the first street art wall has been a success and our team will continue to deliver new creative spaces in our suburbs.”
The walls are a free and legal space for street art and are great places for emerging artists to hone their skills.
A third street art wall will be delivered later this year on Council-owned land at the Paddington Skate Park.
Artist Matt Tervo (TERVO) said the program is already making waves in Brisbane’s arts industry.
“The Ekibin Park legal walls are now over a year old and in that time they’ve encouraged many of the previous generation of artists to come out of retirement and paint again. This wisdom is being passed down to an eager next generation of Brisbane artists and muralists that are ready to be recognised on the global stage,” he said.
“The Lord Mayor and Brisbane City Council’s commitment to growing the legal practice spaces available to artists and muralists shows an authentic support for our industry and community.
“The Tingalpa Spillway (or “Tinnie Spillie”) has long been a place for artists to gather and refine their practice. The first ever piece painted on these walls is acknowledged as being painted in 1993 by ODIE, CRUEL, ALAMO and DCIDE.
“With such a long history, it is exciting to see this space now welcome artists in and encourage all generations of artists to meet, share knowledge, techniques and celebrate what we do best; transform these grey walls and deliver our art form to the public.”
Artist Fintin Magee said the new street art wall location pays homage to artists of the past and is a great opportunity to shape future creatives.
“The Tingalpa Spillway has a long history in Brisbane and I regularly painted it as a young artist,” he said.
“Painting The Tingalpa Spillway allowed myself and other artists to create freely and produce large scale works. We were then able to post photos of these works of art online and gain international recognition. This opened the door to opportunities around the globe that extended our careers to an international scale.
“By opening this wall as a legal practice space for artists, Brisbane City Council is removing the pressure of law enforcement or the controls and expectations of commercial art environments. This encourages artists to continue to use this important space, but do so with even more freedom to create.
“To many, this is a grey spillway under the Gateway. To us, the artists, this has the potential to launch an artist’s career not only locally but onto the world stage.”
Visiting a street art wall is free and all are encouraged to bring their own materials and get involved in making Brisbane better.
For more information on street art walls, visit the Brisbane City Council website.
