Art in the Streets
Che-Chorley
The Art in the Streets mural program is growing Adelaide’s reputation for street art.
UNESCO City of Music mural by Dave Court
The City of Adelaide is committed to public art as one of the important elements of its Cultural Strategy 2017-23, recognising that public art plays a strong role in creating and celebrating the city’s sense of place and identity. The City of Adelaide’s cultural identity is unique, and our creative reputation is renowned and as a UNESCO City of Music, Adelaide has live music as it’s heartbeat, outboard looking and internationally engaged, enriching the whole state of South Australia.
Dave Court was asked to look to the UNESCO designation as a catalyst to explore how live music showcases our unique heritage, multicultural diversity and creative culture, and to explore beyond just the recognised cultural signifiers of live music for inspiration. The City of Music mural and documentary were created in partnership with Music SA, the City of Adelaide and the Music Development Office. Designed and painted by local artist Dave Court and is the largest to ever appear in Adelaide’s CBD. Located on the west-facing wall of 126 Hindley Street where the historic and iconic Trinity Church stands; the location is in directly visible at the Lion Arts Factory. An accompanying documentary has also been created by award winning Adelaide filmmaker Lewis Brideson.
The City of Music project has been made possible with the support of City of Adelaide, Music Development Office, and the UNESCO City of Music Office.
Che Chorley
IMAGE: DAVE COURT, CITY of MUSIC, 126 Hindley Street. PHOTO BY photo by Che Chorley
Music Laneways
The City of Adelaide is celebrating its musical roots by renaming city laneways after its world-famous music artists, acknowledging them for their Adelaide beginnings and their contribution to music locally, nationally and internationally.
With a diverse and rich music heritage, the City of Adelaide was internationally recognised in 2015 when it was designated a UNESCO City of Music. Music cities all over the world have named locations and landmarks after artists and industry identities, acknowledging popular music as an important part of the history and heritage of nations and cities.
To recognise some of Adelaide’s most popular musicians, the City of Adelaide is commissioning artworks to feature and celebrate these musical successes. The artworks will coincide with the re-naming of the laneways and respond to the selected musician’s identity and musical legacy.
Find out more about the City of Music Laneway project.
This mural is part of the City of Music Laneway Project to celebrate Sia Furler Lane.
Adelaide based, emerging artist, Jasmine Crisp has been commissioned to create the Sia inspired mural. Crisp is a recipient of the Praxis ARTSPACE residency and recipient of the Carclew artist in residence program, which she began after graduating with a Bachelor of Visual Art Honours at Adelaide Central School of Art (2017).
Reflecting upon the opportunity, Jasmine says “Sia was the first act I saw perform at the Adelaide Big Day Out in 2011. It was one of my first concerts, I had freshly turned 16 and felt nervous among the large, unfamiliar crowd. She arrived on stage in a personally crafted theatrical dress and paper crown. She stood among instruments all decorated with her bright crochet wrappings. Sia spoke with the audience as much as she sang, she shared sign language symbols with hands in the crowd and communicated with every onlooker with inclusivity and passion. I was never nervous in a crowd after Sia. My aim was to create a unique public artwork that will generate the same encouraging feelings of inclusivity, inspiration, creative detail and wholesome enjoyment. Using my painting knowledge to create a large, detailed and eye-catching mural featuring Sia’s passion for colour, energy and imagination help to foster a welcoming, positive spirit toward live music culture in Adelaide, attracting and enlivening new visitors to the area. I hope my mural will help to inspire involvement in the live music scene and support the local economy all whilst increasing the public awareness of Adelaide as a UNESCO City of Music.”
Image: Jasmine Crisp, She imagined buttons, 2020 Rockford Hotel Morphett Street
This mural is part of the City of Music Laneway Project to celebrate Cold Chisel Lane.
James Dodd is an Adelaide based artist who works across a wide range of mediums. He is interested in the splashes of creativity that can be found in public spaces, especially suburbia. This has many manifestations, from simple paintings to strange contraptions or sculptures that look like they have been “home-brewed in the garden shed”. Since completing his Masters in Visual Arts at the University of South Australia, Dodd has gone on to create an extensive body of work that he has exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions. He challenges traditional notions of genre, fitting comfortably into a traditional gallery setting whilst also exploring new frontiers in visual street culture and the creative use of urban spaces. Painting has always been a core part of his practice. However, his impressive body of work also encompasses built structures, murals and a diverse catalogue of public art. Dodd teaches at the Adelaide Central School of Art, leads community projects and exhibits regularly across Australia.
James Dodd says of his mural: "It has been a great joy to develop this artwork in response to a band whose music and broader cultural context have been present and relevant to me, throughout my life. I have been able to bring together stories from a broad cross-section of people who all talk about how Cold Chisel has left indelible marks on their lives. I hope that this artwork can inspire more people to share their experiences of Cold Chisel and appreciation of the band and their legacy.”
Image: James Dodd,Cold Chisel Lane, 2021, Photo Sam roberts
This mural is part of the City of Music Laneway Project to celebrate No Fixed Address Lane.
Elizabeth Yanyi Close is a Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara woman and professional Contemporary Aboriginal Visual Artist based in the inner south of Adelaide. Close has a dynamic multi-disciplinary visual arts practice that speaks to both her own, personal connection to country, and the concept of connection to place and space more broadly.
Shane Mankitya Cook is a Guwa and Wulli Wulli man with family connections to Cherbourg, Queensland. Cook was born on Kaurna country and grew up in the northern suburbs of Adelaide and is internationally and nationally recognised as a prominent Australian Aboriginal aerosol artist and youth and cultural mentor. Shane has been adopted by and named Mankitya which translates to "the scarred one" by the local Kaurna community in Adelaide, South Australia. The creator of community art and mentoring business "Street Dreamz", was born as a representation of Mankitya’s art; a mixture of graffiti inspired street style art blended with Aboriginal art taught to him by his mother as a child.
Thomas Readett is a Ngarrindjeri and Arrernte artist also based in the inner south of Adelaide, currently working as the Tarnanthi Education Officer at the Art Gallery of South Australia. Thomas is a multi-disciplinary artist with a practice that explores the themes of mental illness, loss and love through Monochromatic Portraiture.
The group feels strongly about increasing the visibility of Aboriginal Arts and Culture in the public space. They are passionate about the importance of public art, and how it fits into the principles of placemaking. Expressing that ‘Public art transcends power dynamics and privilege; it takes art off the walls of the elite and out of the galleries and into the public realm. It is perfectly placed to tell the story of the community; to challenge ideas and perceptions and to create a sense of ownership and belonging.”
The artists’ have said about the opportunity to create this mural that "This artwork is an enduring visual expression of the legacy of No Fixed Address, whilst also being future driven and informed by the work that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Artists are continuing to do today in the fight for parity and equity."
Image: Elizabeth Close, Shane Mankitya Cook and Thomas Readett, No Fixed Address Lane, 2021. Photo Sam Roberts
Street of Love, Heidi Kenyon, 2022
This artwork is part of the City of Music Laneway Project to celebrate Paul Kelly Lane.
Artist Heidi Kenyon has created light-based artworks based on Paul Kelly’s songs “Love is an oft-travelled theme in songwriting, but Paul Kelly’s honesty and vulnerability keeps me coming back for more. Love in all its guises; the yearning, kinship, sadness, exquisite beauty, addiction and complication. The solace and quiet understanding from a partner, an old friend, in coming home.
My artwork features lyrics from Paul Kelly songs that can be made complete by the word love, and employs the moon as a metaphor for its shapeshifting form. It responds to the rich character of the laneway, and asks passers-by to look up and bring their own stories to these heavenly bodies— riffing off the song Beautiful Promise (2010) with the lyrics “love don’t shine steady, it waxes and wanes”.
PHOTO: CATH LEO
A selection of recent City of Adelaide Commissioned Murals
Fringe Street Art Explosion Map
Each year the Fringe Street Art Explosion program commissions Australia’s best emerging and established artists to create large-scale murals across Adelaide city and suburbs, contributing to Adelaide’s international reputation as a vibrant and artistic city.
Since 2016, Fringe Street Art Explosion has been responsible for the creation of 32 public murals across Adelaide.
Explore the interactive map with images and videos as you go.