Street Art
Townsville City Council recognises Street Art as an important factor in creating a vibrant and lively city centre. Contributing to placemaking and urban living transformation, Street Art delivers considerable benefits for the city and its residents.
With a growing presence - including commissioned pieces by world-renowned artists and local talents alike, such as ROA, HAHA, Fintan Magee, Lee Harnden, Kennie Deaner, and the RUN Collective - Street Art is becoming a must-see when visiting the CBD. Guiding the Street Art movement in Townsville is the Street Art Activation Framework. Developed by a larger working group consisting of Townsville City Council, community and organisational stakeholders, the Framework outlines the path forward for Townsville’s Street Art development.
The Street Art movement in Townsville provides local artists with exciting professional development and career opportunities and adds value to Townsville’s arts and culture product. Economically, Street Art helps to activate the CBD, encourage cultural tourism, and strengthen the city’s arts sector.
Street Art Toolkits
Street Art Toolkits provide information for property owners on finding and contracting an artist, and for artists on how to get their street art approved. The toolkits form part of the Street Art Activation Framework, which aims to take a proactive approach to street art initiatives throughout Townsville.
- Artist toolkit (PDF, 1.8 MB)
- Property owner toolkit (PDF, 1.8 MB)
Local Street Artist Call Out!
Townsville City Council is looking to expand the CBD's Street Art trail with a number of exciting new site locations becoming available in 2020.
Council is seeking local Townsville Street Artists both emerging and professional to register their details. A number of opportunities have been identified for artists who will be selected from this callout to receive an Expression of Interest.
Artists who submit their details will be placed into a local Street Artist Registry, which will provide Galleries with a greater understanding of the talent available locally, and provide a more extensive range of artists for Street Art opportunities. Galleries are often asked by external organisations for local Street Artists or Muralists for various artwork commission projects, so there is an identified need to form a comprehensive list of the local talent available. If you agree, your contact details may be passed onto those looking to commission artwork.
Street Art Locations
The Street Art City Walking Trail: 2019 edition is designed to make it easy for you to discover Townsville’s growing Street Art collection as you navigate the city’s streets, it can be downloaded below:
Street Art Walking Trail (PDF, 4.1 MB)
- Denham Lane: featuring work by the RUN Collective, Kennie Deaner, HAHA, and ROA
- Ogden Street: featuring work by the RUN Collective, ROA, Baby Guerrilla, Beastman and Leans
- City Lane: featuring work by Fintan Magee, and Lee Harnden
- Sturt Street: featuring work by ROA, TELLAS and Roberto Ciredz
- Melton Terrace: featuring work by Adnate
- Flinders Street: featuring work by Garth Jankovic and Nicky Bidju-Pryor
Upcoming
Street art activation is happening continually, so keep your eye out for more additions and workshops.
How will this be achieved?
A number of Townsville City Council departments and external organisations are already delivering programs to meet the objectives of the Street Art Activation Framework. These include:
- The Murray Skate Park Outdoor Free Wall: The city’s first free use, community Street Art space where local street artists can practice skills and showcase their work.
- The Riverway Skate Park Outdoor Free Wall: The second free wall created to allow local street artists to practice and showcase their work.
- Commissions: As shown by already completed pieces throughout the CBD, commissions significantly enhance the uniqueness and aesthetic of our public spaces.
- Professional Development Projects and Workshops: These activities expand the skill set of the region’s homegrown creative talent, build resilience in the sector and encourage an active and vibrant Street Art scene.
YouTube Videos
‘HAHA’ painting in Denham Lane
Regan ‘HAHA’ Tamanui discusses his 15 years creating stencils, during which he has forged a reputation as the nation’s leading stencil artist. The interview coincided with Tamanui’s 2015 visit to Townsville to create a new work in Denham Lane consisting of a series of portraits.
In Conversation - Regan 'HAHA' Tamanui
Street artist Regan 'HAHA' Tamanui discusses his work in Denham Lane featuring many famous faces of Townsville, as well as details about his process and works, past and present.
Lee Harnden painting The Smizla
This artwork continues the Street Art project being undertaken in City Lane and was commissioned by Townsville City Council with the assistance of Lancini Property and Development.
In Conversation - Rick McLaren and Fintan Magee
In Conversation with Rick McLaren, retail leasing manager for Lancini Property and Development and street artist Fintan Magee about his Street Art piece in City Lane, commissioned by Lancini Property and Development.
Townsville Street Art: City Lane and Denham Lane 2014
The first half of 2014 saw the completion of two major Street Art works in Townsville. A work by local artist Kennie Deaner in Denham Lane fuses graffiti style writing with a portraiture element referencing the history of the building on which the work is sited, while Lancini Property and Development commissioned internationally recognised artist Fintan Magee to complete his stunning work The Tower in City Lane.
Townsville City Council Street Art: Angus Smith Sportspower
Townsville’s own RUN Collective recently completed a fantastic new mural in Ogden Street as part of the city’s continued Street Art Activation. The project was the result of a collaboration between Townsville City Council and Angus Smith Sportspower.
The RUN Collective’s work is based on sporting culture in North Queensland, with a major portrait element celebrating the achievements of Cathy Freeman. Freeman has a close relationship with our region and particularly Palm Island, where her mother and grandparents were born, and where the Cathy Freeman Foundation was established in 2007.
Leans Mother Earth - Ogden Street
A timelapse of Leans creating his work Mother Earth 2017 in Ogden Street, Townsville. His work provides a vision of the movement and ecstasy felt when exploring the depths of the Great Barrier Reef and captures the colourful charm of the evening sky. The piece consists of a rich dose of patterns and colour taken from glimpses of the coral and fish specific to the area. Fruit, human form and liquid splice their way through an amalgamation of elements, collectively working and breathing together to create a colourful interpretation of Townsville’s ecosystem.
Claire Foxton painting - Sound and Movement Personified
Claire Foxton is an Australian artist and designer. With a unique hybrid of abstraction and realism, Claire's art practice explores the triumphs and strength of the human condition through large scale public portraiture. Her subjects go beyond the typical artist's muse and are carefully chosen for their story, relatability and their capacity to foster connection and dialogue within their community. Sound and Movement Personified is a collaboration with Dance North and photography, to capture a contemporary dance where music is integral.
Mantra painting – Untitled (Female Reading)
Self-taught painter, active in the graffiti scene since 2008, Mantra grew up between the city’s noise and the whispers of the forest. His art honours his childhood heroes; butterflies, owls and spiders. An entire bestiary depicted in his animated and realistic style. The character is reading a book on the most important natural legacy of Townsville: The Great Barrier Reef.
