Street Art Walking Update

Just a quick post to share the latest Street Art Walking news.

So, in June we hosted our first exhibition and we are still getting positive feedback about how great the night was. I’d like to thank the artists and everyone involved with the night. We got to meet lots of fresh faces, as well as a chance to catch up with friends from other local businesses. The night wouldn’t have been made possible without King Street Hotel, so thanks to Russel and the entire team. It is great to work with such a happy, flexible and innovative team of people. We are certainly looking forward to working with them again.

July has been exciting and a bit of an adjustment period, as I have gained a contract for a role as Placemaking Coordinator for Hunter Development Coorporation. It’s early days yet and have some exciting initiatives that I’m researching. This new role has meant that some of the SAW projects that were pending (without secure budgets) have had to be wound down, or put on hold.

Never fear, we are still behind the magic curtain, ticking over on a bunch of cool stuff. Like what?

A new website and a new (first ever) art walk map, designed by Pocket Design. A special thank you to Brett Piva for all his time and energy into assisting myself with the new directions and design items. Brett is also an amazing artist and one of the team members to Time & Place, a fantastically fresh ARI in Newcastle. Their current show (featuring a personal fav Eddie Botha) looks fabulous and I can’t wait to see it, get in before 10th August – on Hunter Street, near The CBD Hotel.

We are scheming an event that will be a collaboration with The Opening Hours, after deciding that the timeframes were just too short to make it in as a satellite event of This Is Not Art. We really, really wanted to make it in with time, but it’s not feasible. This year, anyways. We ha e the walls secured, funding bodies are happy with concept and next will be scheduling a time that’s feasible. It’s looking to be pretty big and we’d rather do it well, with as many involved as possible, as opposed to trimming it back!

We are still scheming some new works to be installed soon, so stay tuned!

We will be blogging live from New York next month and are accepting stickers via mail. Get in touch if you want to come along to NY with us 😉

(above image featuring NY stencil card taken in Curve Gallery Newcastle)

Curve Gallery

Yesterday I went for a short walk around my new neighborhood to see what street art is out and about. I was pleasantly surprised to find something everything block.

There was a mix of grafffiti, stencil work and paste ups, including some yarn bombing, which always makes me smile.

I had intentions of walking to Newcastle Beach to reminisce of the legal walls and to perhaps find a remnant from that coloured past.

Instead, I happened to wander into Curve Gallery, which had been on my ‘To Do’ list for a number of weeks. I was more than pleasantly suprised by the content of their current exhibition.

I knew the concept was that directors, Wayne Heaton and Lisa Who, were running two contemporary art spaces that created international dialogue between UK and Australia. What I didn’t l know is how exciting the canon is which Curve Gallery are presenting works through.

Newcastle (finally) has a fresh set of eyes to see our amazing cultural scene, gifting us with an opportunity to say something that converses some of the key themes that make art the amazing career that it is. Works were conceptually strong, visually appealing and the collected works, which paired artists whom have not met, was refreshing.

Anyone who needs to feel inspired (which, really, is all of us – right?) should go in and see their gallery space. The curatorial direction is exciting to have in this unique place that we have and we certainly could gain from strengthening our international ties. Social media helps but there’s something tangible about being able to see works by artists from Ireland (of New York photographs), next to well-established and known local artists, including some local surprises. Surprises have an important place and so to does Curve Gallery.

Find them here:
37 Watt Street (Cnr of King)
Newcastle

Website: http://www.curvegallery.com/
Curve is proudly supported by Renew Newcastle.

I would love to write more about the exhibition itself but it’s more important for you to make the physical visit to the space. You will be pleased to find poignant installations, beautiful photography, interesting sculptures and fantastic site specific works. Its too hard for me to pick a favourite, yet with my canon so focused on my upcoming visit to New York, I must commend the work by Irish artist SCAN for his works based on beautifully graffitied doors in the New York. The works remind us of the important of collaboration, even anonymously in the night.

I was also very interested in work by UK artist, Robyn Woolston, which featured a powerful floor installation, echoing thought-provoking tales of coal trade links between Newcastle UK and our own coal city.