Sydney’s street artists and makers are set to get another platform for their works and wares thanks to Liverpool Council’s newly minted Street Art Festival
The free event is happening this month at the Bathurst Street South Car Park, adjacent to Liverpool’s Eat Street, AKA Macquarie Street (future plans aim to see its lower half turned into an eating and dining precinct, hence the name). The festival will feature a selection of street art, market stalls, food trucks, international cuisine and live performances. Program director Vi Girgis says Sydney’s arts and culture sponges will have plenty to enjoy.
“[It’s] about bringing a high calibre of art and culture to the streets of Liverpool – where it really needs to be front and centre – and to bring people from the Inner West and CBD areas [out to Liverpool] and to make them realise that it isn’t that far to travel to see some really amazing art [and] have some amazing cultural experiences.
“People tend to only think as far as Parramatta when they think south-west,” Girgis says. “There are heaps of opportunities [in Liverpool] for artists and artisans to work and build a market.”
Five Sydney-based street artists including the likes of Mulga (whose works you may have seen in Newtown and Bondi), Alex Lehours, Skulk, Phibs and Chocolate Einstein (who also has a kids’ clothing line) have been commissioned to paint murals. The works will be in place for at least a year, says Girgis, but since several are on private property, heading down to the festival is the surest way to see them all together.
Both Mulga’s and Skulk’s artworks have been installed at the southern end of Macquarie Street. Mulga’s mural features two chill gorillas holding up slices of pepperoni and mushroom pizza amid some vividly coloured foliage, and is his largest work to date. The remaining three artworks are still to come, including the showstopper of the festival: a mural of Diego Rivera proportions clocking in at 30 metres and spanning two storeys.
Alongside the murals, contemporary dance group Shaun Parker & Company will be performing their piece Trolleys (with actual shopping trolleys), and Amanda Parer’s larger-than-life inflatable bunnies from her popular work Intrude will be dotted about the place. The program also features musicians Mickey Sulit, Jamestown Collective, Revolution Incorporated and Hot Potato Band, as well as a fire-twirling collective from Western Sydney.
“It really is a great time to be in Liverpool and experiencing culture in Liverpool,” says Girgis, who is south-west born and bred. “I live in Liverpool, so this has been really close to my heart because I usually have to travel to these kinds of events. It’s been great to put together an event in my backyard that is on par, or even more unique, than what you would find elsewhere.
“The festival is about celebrating Sydney-based art and culture … It’s really special to get artworks like Amanda Parer’s bunnies and Trolleys because they’ve been recognised internationally; you wouldn’t have associated artworks of that calibre with a place like Liverpool in the past. The festival comes at a fortuitous time because it coincides with Casula Powerhouse Centre’s Refugees exhibition opening. The calibre of international artists showcased in that [exhibition] is mind-blowing.”
The major inspiration for Girgis’ program came from events like Chippendale’s Beams arts festival. “I’ve travelled and seen the public and cultural activations that happen around the world on a very ad hoc basis,” she says, “and just seeing the vibe that [Beams] creates is also really inspiring.”
Liverpool Street Art Festival takes placeSaturday August 13 at Bathurst Street South Car Park, 350-354 Macquarie St, Liverpool.
