Now approaching its fourth year, the Wall to Wall Street Art Festival held over the Labour Day Long Weekend has cemented itself as a world-class street art festival and has put Benalla on the world map as a pioneering leader in street art.
The small Victorian township of Benalla has become the regional street art capital of the country, with a densely populated outdoor street art gallery of more than 60 iconic public artworks by Australia’s leading street artists, local emerging artists and renowned international artists.
Artists participating include: Anthony Lister, Callum Preston, Claire Foxton, Dvate, Elle, George Rose, Georgia Hill, Justine McAllister, Kaff-eine, Leonard Siaw, Lisa King, Lolo YS, Loretta Lizzio, Shawn Lu, Tom Gerrard, Tim Bowtell , Cristen Brunner, Zenisis, Chris Henderson and Julian Clavijo.
The 2018 Festival promises to be the biggest yet. Already the home of Adnate’s ‘Sohpia’ mural located inside the United Church, Goorambat will once again become a major satellite site at this year’s festival with the addition of silo art by iconic Melbourne street artist, Dvate.
Temporary inflatable sculptures will also be dotted around the town by Australia’s most revered contemporary street artists, Anthony Lister. Another exciting element at this year’s festival is a cutting edge virtual reality street art simulator at the event’s main festival hub – giving viewers a unique first person perspective of what it feels like to be a spray paint artist.
Callum Preston – a sucker for nostalgia – will recreate an operational, life-size milk bar. Like any milk bar, Preston’s is filled with the usual suspects – magazines, chocolate bars, soft drinks – but take a closer look and you’ll see that each one is completely handmade from timber and hand- illustrated by Preston himself. Located at the Benalla Art Gallery, MILK BAR is set to be an immersive experience which will transform the spectacular main room of the Gallery.
Professional Street Art Tour guide, David Russell will again be on hand for those that want to get an insider’s look at how different street artists’ work has evolved and the different styles and approaches artists take when creating works and establishing their careers.
“I’m proud to say Benalla is the most exciting street art location in the country,” said Wall to Wall Festival Artistic Director, Shaun Hossack. “The collection of street art works in Benalla is second to none. There isn’t another place in Australia that has so many high quality murals in such a small area.”
The Wall to Wall Street Art Festival runs 9 – 12 March 2018. For more information and complete program, visit: www.walltowallfestival.com for details.
Image: Dvat, Regent Honeyeater, 2017 – photo by Nicole Reed