Colourful cities: Melbourne
I have been photographing street art for years now, and it truly inspires my own work. I am constantly impressed by how a well-placed, colourful mural can brighten up even the saddest and most run-down parts of a city, and it can be a beautiful channel to get a important and meaningful message across to people.
Cities are constantly changing, and the street art changes alongside. This is why I have made it my mission to capture some of the world’s most interesting and stunning street art in my new blog series: Colourful Cities. This week I am starting with - you guessed it - Melbourne, Australia.
In November, I had the pleasure of visiting Melbourne for the first time as part of a family holiday to Australia. With no idea what to expect, I was excited to hear that it had a reputation for being arty and indie. While I was keen to try some of the local independent brunch spots (can’t go wrong with a bit of avocado toast), the top priority for me was - of course - the street art.
A Guide to Melbourne Street Art
Scattered all over the city are over a dozen painted alleys, each with their own unique look and feel. Despite there being more than in any other city that I have visited (step it up Manchester!), it is easy to miss these stunning murals if you don’t know where to look. Fortunately, it only takes a brief Google to find the locations to look out for and I have listed them all below for you!
Some were a poignant depiction of the current state of the human race and politics, some were homages to the city, and others were bold and imaginative pieces of art, scroll down for a gallery of my favourite pieces of Melbourne street art.
Melbourne’s colourful streets
The walk around the city’s street art takes around 45 minutes in total but leave extra time to soak in the detail and take pictures. There are some great coffee shops along the route too and, the rumours are true, Melbourne coffee is something else…
So, here are some of the colourful streets that you need to add to your arty day out:
Zevenboom Lane
Hardware Street
Warburton
Rankins Lane
Union Lane
Carson Place
Presgrave off Howey Place
Degraves
Hosier Lane
Rutledge Lane
ACDC Lane
Duckboard Place
Check out the walking tour map.
I have a few colourful cities lined up for you in the next couple of weeks, but I am keen to discover more. Know any cities covered in street art? Let me know so I can see it before it disappears.
In the meantime, here is a gallery of my favourite pieces of Melbourne street art. Want to see more? Well you might just have to travel there…
