The Graffiti Mentoring Project grew out of the City of Melbourne’s Graffiti Management Plan, initially exploring the possibilities of ‘Diversion’ suggested in the document. The project was produced by the Community Cultural Development Program of the Arts and Culture Branch, locating the project in an appropriate social and creative context.
For the first three months the topic was scoped and investigated. International, interstate and local council strategies were compared. Against this broader picture, the City of Melbourne’s Graffiti Management Plan was examined, in particular its divers response – on one hand the controversial pre-Commonwealth Games clean-up to the new Street Art Permit scheme creating space for legal work. Over 40 stakeholders were interviewed from police officers, to graffiti cleaning coordinators, artists, convicted taggers and youth lawyers to get an idea of how far the practice touches our community.
Artist mentors were then engaged to work with young graffiti writers to conduct their own investigation of the topic through multi-media. Photographs emerged of nighttime tagging, recordings of conversations from behind bars and a film documenting the city’s first street art permit to be issued at a site in Parkville created by artists from Artful Dodgers Studio.
The Street Art Project in Union Lane 2008 was the most significant and active stage of the Graffiti Mentoring Project. The laneway is in a high profile site within the heart of the Melbourne’s retail hub and was increasingly uninviting and heavily tagged. The creation of the mural, spanning 550 square meters on both sides, aims to transform the site into an exciting, creative and attractive experience for those wanting to walk the central laneways of Melbourne.
Street Art Permits were sought with written permission from the building owners. The word was put out via the Melbourne Youth Services Forum and through an artists’ blog, beyondthecctv.blogspot.au, for young people to participate in painting the lane. Sessions were held twice a week, at different times. An Artist Mentor was employed at each session, a Site Manager coordinated the activity, and all materials were provided.
This process attracted more than 100 young artists ranging in ages from as young as 13 years through to mid to late twenties.
The closing stage of the project brings together an exhibition, walking tour and forum exploring the themes and experiences of this project, the current position of graffiti and street art in the City of Melbourne.
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Last winter I got an email from a friend of mine named Drew Fasy. Drew is a very nice guy and is quite involved in trying to improve the civic life of our town of Ocean City New Jersey.
Thanks to Zion at Bombshelter, Toronto, ON Canada, Croft St Laneway Revitalization, Harbord Village Residents Association, Michael Heydon, Harbord BIA, Neil Wright, Molly Johnson, KALE, BOOLEEP, Viviana Astudillo, Community CAVE, Jowi Taylor, Six String Nation Guitar, 7th Generation Image Makers, Lurdes Cruz, Nancy Peters of Probation Services, Portuguese Community Centre, Heidi, Danielle, Michelle, Jason, Chuck, Orlondo, and the entire team from the Argos Foundation, Toronto Police Service Chief William Blair, Inspector Heinz Kuck, Inspector Bryce Evans, Superintendent Ruth White, Staff Sergeant Frank Besenthal, Constable Mathew Crisp, Constable Shane Rolland, Janna Van Hoof, Style in Progress, 416 Graffiti Expo, MANR, MATR, ALPHA, Central Technical School, Central Commerce Collegiate, West Toronto Collegiate (special thank you to Maria Campodonnico for believing and continuing to believe in the kids), Karin Fuessel, GMW staff (all of you) Toronto Crime Stoppers Community Board of Directors led by Chair Lorne Simon, Toronto Crime Stoppers Coordinator Larry Straver, City of Toronto Parks Forestry and Recreation Department Allan Crawford, TorontoBMX, Michael Heaton, TIMMZ, TABS, Laser Eagles (your drive, determination and spirit drives us!) Arthur Lockhart, Leyla Bulcan, Paul Aiello, Sascha Tukatsch and the STD Effekt Band, Canadian National BIA Conference 2007, St Stephens Community House, Richmond Street Laneway Rivitalization, St Mary’s ESP team under the leadership of Cathy Byrd, Youth in Policing students and organizers Melva Radway, Danielle Francis and Joanne Gooding, as well as all the civilian TPS staff who have helped out in so many ways…Michael Brown and the Harbourfront Mural Project.. HORUS, NEAM, SESER, CRUZ1, BUBBLEZ, PHADE, and so many more artists.., Scott Sullivan, Larry King and Fernando Aceto at the City of Toronto Municipal Leasing and Standards Department, the residents of Broadcast Lane..