In stencil terms Melbourne has a lot to live up to. Famously identified as the ‘stencil capital of the world’ Melbourne has a strong history of stencil and street art. Fortunately, despite the introduction of some spectacularly regressive anti-graffiti laws, Melbourne remains right at the creative centre of the street art scene. It’s this richness that makes Melbourne unique and which acted as a catalyst to the introduction of the festival.

This years’ event is being held in the Yarra Sculpture Gallery in Abbotsford. It’s a great space and a perfect venue. Visitors to the festival don’t just look at the art; they are actually given the opportunity to get involved. There are graffiti tours of some of Fitzroy’s finest artistic hot spots, lessons from some of the best on how to cut stencils and (by all accounts) a special opening night. But there’s more than that. There is also a community of fantastically talented people from all around the world who have gathered in a very small place to show and talk art: with each other, with passers-by, with anybody and everybody. It’s the accessibility and approachability of the artists that makes the festival so special.

Of course, being friendly will only take you so far. Fortunately the list of artists and the works on show are as good a collection as I have seen in Australia.

What is most striking is the sheer diversity of the images. Amongst the most confronting are those of A1one (left). I don’t know about you, but when I think of Iran, ‘street art’ isn’t the first thing that springs to mind. However, based in Tehran, A1one is trying to re-shape an artistic community that he says remains fiercely conservative.

His work explores both Islamic and Western images. Fusing stencils and text, his work is staunchly political. When asked about the images A1one states simply that “in Iran everything is political”. A1one’s work takes this on board but is not an attempt to advocate for any other social or governmental system. His work is about ordinary people; people he feels are invariably sold out by the State. In his words “I hate all government”. It’s a powerful and a startlingly simple message. A1one’s work is still available at the festival, or you can check it out here: www.kolahstudio.com.

In contrast, John Koleszar’s images are deliberately not political and are influenced by the work of Logan Hicks. “For me art’s a form of therapy,” he says. “I’m happy to sit down and talk politics with anyone… but I don’t want to bring it to my art”. Rather than work outdoors, Koleszar (left) spends his time in a studio in Arizona, United States, a state where street-level art can land you in jail. “I’m waiting for the day when stencil art is accepted as a serious art form and exhibited in museums and galleries,” he says.

Koleszar’s impressive technical ability seems, to me, likely to bring that day a little closer. The level of detail involved in his stencils is amazing; all the more so when you realise that every image can take several months to prepare and each is cut by hand. The hand cut, while arduous, appears to give a softness to the lines and the image that is often lacking in machine cut images. That combined with the tones employed make for some truly stunning results. Koleszar’s work is available at the festival or you can check it out through his blog: www.koleszar.blogspot.com.

Another striking, albeit very different, image is the work of Rachael Miller (right). Miller has been a long time participant in the festival and a long term member of Melbourne’s stencil community. She comes from a visual art and print-making background but, finding herself short on sculpture space, plunged into the world of stencils after leaving university. She is passionate about both the festival and the scene more generally. “It’s a way to connect everybody; old and young,” she says. “Many of the kids at the school where I teach art have in the past been into tagging and I’ve tried to direct them into street and stencil stuff. They love it.”

Miller’s own work is decorative rather than political. Unfortunately she only has one work in the exhibition but the simple clear lines and charm that she conveys through it make it one of the most memorable pieces in the show. If you’re interested in her work, Rachael can be contacted by email.

Finally, another Melbourne stencil artist that caught my eye is Michael Pablo (left). Michael was originally born in the United States but has been visiting Melbourne since 1992 and has lived here for the several years. He works with both paint and fabric (designing and printing t-shirts) and has developed a distinctive graphic style that is well suited to stencil art.

As a street artist, Pablo is both excited by and wary of the success of the scene. He warns that the scene needs to “ventilate” and is critical of the reliance of some street artists upon “shock” to make their point. “There’s a lot of hype,” he suggests, “the whole world’s being dumbed down. It’s easy to think of something that will shock, but it’s a lot harder to actually think of something that will engage people and make them think.”

The criticism is a familiar one but it seems to me to be less of a concern here.  As I’m talking to Rachael Miller after the interview I mention Ikea and she smiles. “That’s why I was a bit hesitant when you asked me where the scene was going,” she says. “Maybe some of the images and artists will be selling prints in Ikea in thirty years’ time.”

Maybe. However, I think that if this happens then the Melbourne Stencil Festival will play an important role in nurturing an anti-Ikea backlash.  What struck me about the exhibition was how different it was. There weren’t any Banksy or Shepherd Fairey or Faile clones. Each artist here is busy creating something new and something different: from Iran to Arizona to Melbourne. The Melbourne Stencil Festival continues to draw people and artists because it is genuinely refreshing and diverse. It’s become an institution not through gimmicks but by providing people with some of the best stencil art and the best stencil artists going around.

The Melbourne Stencil Festival runs from August 1 – 10 at the Yarra Sculpture Gallery in Abbotsford – click here for the full program.

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Photos courtesy of Al Wilson.

A lot of the better known street art sites are in and around the laneways of the city centre. This morning though I’m buzzing on my new-old bike to the corner of Edward and Ewing Streets in Brunswick. I walked past this wall a few weeks ago and have come back to take a second look. There’s an old milk bar on the South Western corner of the intersection. It’s absolutely covered in small stencils. The Driven to New Pastures piece by Civil and a number of images by Vexta are amongst the highlights but there’s a lot more here besides. The stencils have clearly been there for a while and some are looking a bit worse for wear but the collection of work here is seriously good and definitely worth a visit.

The style of Civil’s stencil is simple. It works, for me, because it’s unexpected. Street art is often about the appropriation of space and / or subversion of traditional society or media. This piece is more sentimental than that. It’s not an attack upon anything; just a depiction of rural life which contrasts wonderfully with this wet and cold city morning.

Vexta is well known for her faces. There’s something cool, sexy and slightly uneasy about her images. Even after several months / years outside this face is animated and engaging. It’s shouting at you – which is exactly what good street art should do.

Both Civil and Vexta are part of the Melbourne street art scene and examples of their work can be found at several sites in the inner city. Both have also exhibited at Until Never gallery (just off Hosier lane) so if you prefer your art inside then drop by and take a look at what they’ve got around.

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I remember getting into street art in about 2004. Living in Fitzroy it was easy because I was surrounded by it. Seeing local artists like HaHa and Vexta inspired me to look further afield. In doing so I came across other names- Banksy and the New York based collective, Faile to name just two. I finally stumbled across the Pictures on Walls website (sellers of contemporary art prints) and started to collect. The first Banksy prints I picked up cost under $200 each.

The emergence of street or ‘urban’ art as a force in the contemporary art market has seen a big change in the cost of collecting. Recent auction sales by UK artists Banksy, Faile, Adam Neate and Dface have fetched record prices. Small original canvases by Banksy that were sold for a few hundred dollars as late as 2003/04 now regularly fetch over $100,000; what was initially a passion for a small group of collectors has become a global investment phenomenon.

The increase in prices has, predictably, led to changes within the scene itself. Canvases and prints that used to sit around for months or even years are now snapped up, literally, within seconds. Some are bought by the growing legion of street art converts; others are grabbed by investors who, attracted by the promise of profits, are simply hoping to make some easy cash.

The money involved in the scene has also though had an effect on the way in which street art is viewed. Street art is, by its nature, transient. Artists accept that their work will fade, be cleaned up or tagged over. However, having it nicked and then sold is a different matter altogether. Many of the Banksy street pieces in London have been removed and sold to collectors and galleries. Where the image can’t readily be removed whole walls have been put up for sale. While there have been questions about the authenticity of some of the sales what cannot be questioned is that a large number of street pieces by Banksy (and to a lesser extent other street artists) are ending up in the hands of private collectors.

The silver lining to this rather dark cloud is that it has led people to reassess the value of street art and, at times, to take a more active role in preserving it. The dark cloud inside this silver lining is that frequently their desire to protect the piece has very little to do with its artistic merit and much more to do with its financial worth. And that’s a shame because the images themselves are stunning. Banksy visited Melbourne in 2003 and after an amazingly prolific fortnight left examples of his work all over the inner city. Many are now gone but there are still a few about. The most famous is the little diver on the rear of the St Nicholas building on Flinders Lane. However, there are also pieces in St Kilda (behind the Esplanade hotel), in Hosier Lane in the City (Check out the City Lights Gallery while you’re there) and in Fitzroy. If you’re feeling lazier then Revolver on Chapel Street has a series of pieces that he completed on their walls/ doors. It’s a great introduction to the street scene and a good way to get out and see the city!

A Few Relevant Sites

1. Banksy’s own site- http://www.banksy.co.uk/

2. Australian Graf site- http://www.thisisvandalism.com

3. An Australian Board Discussing Street Art- http://auscollectors.proboards47.com/index.cgi?

4. An Australian Gallery (Based in Sydney) selling works by many Australian street artists- http://www.stupidkrap.com/

5. Pictures on Walls has played a huge role in developing the scene in London. There are a lot of newer print houses and galleries now. But it’s still a good place to start- http://www.picturesonwalls.com

6. The Banksy Forum. The largest and liveliest of several UK forums discussing street art- http://www.banksy.info/