In Focus

Street Art

On 3 December 2012 a proposal was put forward by Cr Gary Eddiehausen to Don Gordon, Executive Manager Community Services, towards the establishment of a Memorial Street Art Prize as a community capacity building initiative.

In scoping this initiative Townsville City Council staff developed a report which assessed not only the Memorial Street Art Prize in isolation, but the potential activation of legalised Street Art projects and initiatives across the city.

The report identified and assessed numerous programs locally and across Australia that had engaged Street Art activity and explored the development, policy, successes and failures, opportunities and outcomes derivative of each initiative.

This report clearly identified the enormous potential for the positive activation of Street Art in Townsville, if fully considered and properly managed.

In early 2014, Gallery Services convened a Street Art Activation Working Group, inviting participants from a range of potentially impacted stakeholders, including;

+ Community Development, Townsville City Council

+ Heritage and Urban Planning Unit, Townsville City Council

+ Property Services, Townsville City Council

+ Corporate Communications, Townsville City Council

+ Legal Services, Townsville City Council

+ Queensland Police Service

+ Townsville Youth Justice

+ The Youth Network NQ

+ Representatives of local business

+ Representatives of local Street Artists

The objective of the group is to share experiences and project feedback, knowledge and information, ideas and strategies with the final aim of delivering in early 2015 a thoroughly considered framework for Legal Street Art Activation in Townsville.

Recognising Street Art’s place as a legitimate artform, its legal activation would result in a number of social and economic benefits, such as;

+ Enlivening public and civic spaces

+ Encouraging creative expression

+ Providing outlets and pathways for at-risk youth

+ Developing cultural tourism within the city

While the financial year 2013/2014 has focussed on the development of a framework, Gallery Services and members of the Street Art Activation Working Group have also worked to guide and deliver significant Street Art projects within Townsville during this period.

One such project was a major commission on the rear façade of 224-226 Flinders Street East (Agora House), adding to an existing artwork on the rear lane façade of the Dynasty Seafood Restaurant (228 Flinders Street East), and building on Denham Lane’s reputation as a local Street Art destination.

Managed by the Heritage and Urban Planning Unit, and assisted by Gallery Services, the commission was undertaken in May 2014 by Kennie Deaner , a Townsville-based street artist who had previously produced works at the Riverway Skate Park and has a wealth of experience in creating murals and works on canvas.

Kennie’s practice combines brush and roller paint with a large amount of aerosol. His designs use structured lines combined with fluid organic forms and bright rendered colours to provide visual impact.

Kennie states, “My background is traditional street art lettering, but over many years of using these techniques and progressing with fine arts, I have been able to blend the two into my current style of urban art. I want to show the public that street art doesn’t have to have a stigma of graffiti attached to it. It can be blended with fine art to achieve appeal to all of the public, young and old.”

Kennie’s Denham Lane mural combined strong elements of traditional street art writing and a bold portrait element of Captain William Howard Smith. In doing so, Kennie melds the lane’s current urban feel with its historical roots. Agora House was erected in 1910-11 as new offices for the Townsville branch of the Howard Smith Company Ltd, a substantial Australian coastal shipping company. The firm was established in Melbourne in the early 1850s by Captain William Howard Smith. Its operations were extended to Central Queensland in 1870, and to Townsville in 1882, in the form of an agency. The firm, by then known as Howard Smith & Sons Ltd, made an important economic contribution to the development of North Queensland through its trading ventures and shipping network.

A second major commission, this time initiated by Lancini Property and Development and assisted by Gallery Services, was completed in the new City Lane development in May 2014 by internationally renowned street artist Fintan Magee.

Born in Lismore, NSW, Fintan Magee moved to Brisbane as a child and soaked up Brisbane’s street art culture in his teens. His current work is a unique blend of impressively rendered surreal and figurative imagery, responds to the urban environment in which they are created, and prompts contemplation from viewers on a raft of complex issues ranging from waste, consumption, loss and transition.

Far from being confrontational statements however, Magee’s works remain influenced by children’s book illustrations and as such maintain a softness that ensures a broad affection.

The mural created in City Lane, entitled The Tower, reflects on Magee’s experiences in the Brisbane floods; making comment on the resilience and camaraderie of Queenslanders in the face of natural disasters. Simultaneously, the work aims to prompt thought about climate change, while also affectionately highlighting the aesthetic qualities of traditional ‘Queenslander’ architecture.

Since the work’s completion, the city of Townsville has enjoyed international exposure. As of the end of May, a photo post on facebook of the work by the artist had attracted over 360 likes and 160 shares (many by street art publications and organisations around the world), reaching a massive audience worldwide.

Significantly, the project in City Lane also incorporated a wall to be utilised as a revolving exhibition space for local street artists. Four artworks were commissioned and installed in May by members of the RUN Collective, and young artists engaged through The Youth Network NQ.

The opportunity for these artists to be compensated for their work and further legitimise their practice through broad exposure is invaluable to the development of the city’s Street Art scene.

Further, the opportunity for the artists to work alongside an experienced artist such as Fintan Magee will have tangible professional development benefits.

Commissioned by Gallery Services, Townsville City Council, through funding provided under the Community Development and Recovery Package - a joint initiative of the Australian and Queensland Governments “In recognition of the resilience shown by the Townsville community during and after Cyclone Yasi (February 2, 2011)”