Joe Vegas

A screenprinter by trade Joe Vegas is a supremely talented yet rarely organised art-making machine. He is known to often dwell in the streets of Melbourne Town. 10 years ago whilst living in a caravan on the NSW coast he would scribble away furiously by himself during the gaps left by skateboarding, acting more out of compulsion than any grand design. It took the encouragement of a friend for him to realise art is a worthwhile focus/ Obsession/ way of life and much more than just a gap filler. Since then there has been a brief interlude in art school, a few changes in scenery and a shit load of debris such as stencils, illustrations, murals, Screenprints, Tattoos, Sculpture, Photography and Band Posters.

pappyvegas.weebly.net



Check out Joe’s work in the Sweet Streets Award show: 1000 pound Bend until the 24 october

Boo

Boo is a stencil artist and facilitator from Melbourne city. In spite of her honours degree in fine art she has been making street art for many years. The reclamation of public space being central to her work, she prefers the street to the gallery but exists wholly between the two. Boo is obsessed with the point at which the aesthetic and the political collide the creation of a subtle friction and that slight sense of uneasiness. Her motivation is to create engaging work that leads the viewer to question immediate visual gratification and look for more, a disjuncture, a grift, or another way of seeing. She is currently hard at work with the sweet streets committee, after having won the emerging artists award at last years Melbourne stencil festival and spending every waking hour in her studio to deliver some aerosol delights for this years festival. All this and more glad wrapped in a pleasing 1940′s aesthetic.

two4apenny.com

CHeck out Boo’s work in the Sweet Streets Award show: 1000 Pound Bend until th 24 October 2010

Phoenix – Ephemeral

Melbourne street artist Phoenix has created a work ‘EPHEMERAL’ to coincide with Sweet Streets 2010. This work – which he has installed on the wall of the carpark opposite Thousand Pound Bend – is an exploration of the way street art evolves with the passage of time.

The top letters are sturdily built – made of plywood coated with PVA and paper; the bottom letters are made of unsealed corrugated cardboard – open along their top edges to the rain and sun. One part is designed to last; the other part is designed to degrade.
Phoenix installed this piece on the day before the Sweet Streets opening – with the hope that the piece might start to show signs of its inevitable self-destruction over the course of the Festival.
With the extraordinary weather we have been experiencing in this middle part of the Festival, his hope may just be fulfilled. A photo taken last Thursday night – before yesterday’s wild weather, and tomorrow’s even wilder forecast – showed the ‘MORE EPHEMERAL’ letters dampened and beginning to swell:


Because street art is so often impermanent and ephemeral, it is often suggested that that is how it should be – yet surely this is open to question. Many street artists feel a sense of satisfaction at their works lasting over time.
People attending Thousand Pound Bend for the various events in the second week of Sweet Street will have the opportunity to watch what happens to this piece over the days remaining in the Festival – and perhaps beyond. ‘EPHEMERAL’ may be at the effect of natural  or human elements – whatever happens, it will continue to spell out something interesting about the ephemerality of street art.
We will update any significant changes to this piece on the Sweet Streets website.

Artists Talk

Featured

Come along to 1000 pound bend this Saturday to meet artists Kirsty Furniss (from KA’a), Tom Civil, Junky Projects, Haha, and Boo, as they discuss their work with Mickie Skelton.

Audiences are encouraged to get involved and ask questions as they hear about the artists’ involvement in Street art culture and in particular, some of the challenges and politics surrounding being a Street artist and working on and off the streets.

This is a free event and all are welcome – so come on down at 2pm this Saturday and get involved!

This may also be your last chance to see the award show at the Bend as works will start to come down on the 24th October in preparation for our Charity auction.

Festival Opening Night and Annoncements of Winners!

Featured

What an awesome opening we had at 1000 £ Bend, with over 1,000 people attending. A huge thanks to all who gave up their time to make the festival opening a happening thing; our volunteer management & operations team, the NZ crew (Cinzah, Cracked Ink, Liam Moore) who created a collaborative masterpiece along with some other spontaneous contributors.
Great Earthquake & Dj Mike Zun who kept the sounds coming throughout the night, 1000 £ Bend who kept the Bloody Mums & Rum Bums flowing throughout the night, our sponsors, and of course the extremely talented artists.

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The Award Show Judges

We were extremely lucky this year to have three judges for our Award show that are intimately involved with the urban art scene in Melbourne.

Din Heagney or ‘the art pimp’ is a well-known writer, curator and artist. Former director of Platform Gallery and editor of Un Magazine, Din has written for numerous galleries and museums including the NGA, Gertrude, West Space, Pages, Nylon and Monument.

Luke Matthews is director of Gorker Gallery in Fitzroy, a gallery that is home to many street art shows from both international and Australian artists. Luke and Gorker Gallery has, and still does play an important role in the professionalisation of street art as a form of fine art in the gallery. While Gorker itself, is a modest urban industrial converted warehouse that makes this form of art feel right at home.

Alex McCulloch, director of Metro Gallery, has recently opened one of the biggest international street art shows ever to be put on in Australia. On the Wall, including works by Banksy, Blek le Rat, D-face, and Swoon, amongst other massive street art names, is a rare show to come to Melbourne, and a huge contribution to the cause for revealing street art as fine art, to the public.

Thanks to Din Heagney, Luke Matthews and Alex McCulloch for spending the time going through all the works in the show, and presenting the Best in Show award, and four further highly commended awards. For those of you who couldn’t make it (or couldn’t hear over the crowd!)….here were the winners!…

Winner of the Best in Show award presented by the City of Yarra and the
Melbourne Stencil Festival Association ($1000 cash prize):

Jussi Two Seven for Go East

Winners of the Highly Commended awards presented by Avant Card ($300
each):

- Junky Projects for his sculptures – Don’t Shoot, A Very Important Date, The
High Priest, and Mercenary Sentinal.

- John Koleszar for CMYK Koleszar

- Jonathan Wakuda Fisher for The Black Ships (A Promise and a Threat)

- Ben Osborne-Macpherson for 295 Victoria Street

Congratulations to all our winners and thank you to all artists for being involved in this years festival. The amazing standard of work seen in the award show is just the tip of the iceberg, with so much more to see during the festival in our live painting, exhibitions at the YSG and Brunswick Street Gallery, works created in the Collingwood Underground, and donated pieces for our Charity Auction on the 24 October at 1000 pound bend.

Grab a program from 1000 £ Bend, or download one here so you don’t miss out!

Stencil for Beginners

JunkyProjects

JunkyProjects

Join Daniel Lynch, renowned street artist from Junkyprojects, to learn how to make quirky stencils. This workshop starts at the very beginning, so if you’ve never picked up an art knife before, never fear. From cutting to spraying all the secrets of this DIY process will be revealed and you too can make your own two-toned stencil masterpiece. Bring along a photo or drawing of your choice; remember the more simple and contrasted it is the better; a selection of images will be provided on the day for those of you who can’t choose!

Date & time: Sunday 10th October 10am – 1pm

Venue: Signal Art Space, Flinders Walk, Northbank, Melbourne VIC

Cost: $25

Enquiries: contact Debbie Hall: debbie_hall@bigpond.com or call 0431363097

Deb

Deb currently based between Melbourne and Sydney is an extremely pro active artist, with constant project on the go. She is also at the forfront of the Australian Street Art scene. Deb has spread her work throughout  many parts of the country as well as other parts of the globe, as well as engaging in public art programs, workshops, design and many fine art exhibitions.

Check out Deb’s mural at the Sweet Streets Award Show: 8-24 October, 1000 Pound Bend. Mural will be auctioned at the Sweet Streets Fundraising Auction: 4pm, 24 October, 1000 Pound Bend.

www.deb.net.au/

Megan Dell

After growing up in coastal Victoria, Megan moved to Melbourne at the age of 17 to study Graphic Arts. She had admired the street art in her many trips to Melbourne and started dabbling in it once she moved to the city. Her artwork almost always incorporates spray paint and markers, with a preference to paint on reclaimed wood as each piece already provides its own character and history. Megan has been painting and exhibiting on a regular basis for 6 years now, and currently works full time as a UX Designer.

Check out Megan’s work at the Sweet Streets at BSG show - opening night Wed 13th Oct, Brunswick Street Gallery.

twitter: megandell

the JUNKYPROJECTS

Crafted from arcane rites encoded with the capitalist symbology of the modern corporate global battlefield, the ‘JUNKYPROJECTS’ is a powerful magikal curse which once placed upon any particular area, then empowers any garbage and waste contained therin to become animate and in many ways spring to life.

The myriad of intruiging creatures which have arisen due to this strange set of circumstances often live on in their duties as sentinals, dilligently manning their posts and serving as a warning to all who pass by that whatever you discard as rubbish may one day return to haunt you.

As the alchemist who enacted this kraft i continue in my efforts to enlighten the wasteful habits of my fellow worldly occupants through encrypted occult urban interventions.

Take heed all who encounter this spell and may it force your hand to reconsider the all consuming appetite for shiny new meanigless trophies and trinkets.

Daniel Lynch

the JUNKYPROJECTS

Daniel will have an installation at the Sweet Streets Award Show, 1000 Pound Bend: 8-24 Oct and at the Street Sculpture Exhibition, Yarra Sculpture Gallery: 15-24 Oct.

Daniel will also be working on an outdoor installation during the Sweet Streets Festival on Queens Parade. More info to be posted…

Yarn Wrap

Yarn graffiti artist, teacher and crafter.

The ‘Yarn Wrap’s work has been found all around Melbourne. Last year she contributed a number of pieces to the ‘Big West’ Festival in Footscray. She has also tagged around Fitzroy, St.Kilda and Bayside Melbourne. She studied at Sydney University in the early 90’s and qualified as a Textiles & Design and Food Technology teacher. She has taught in London and Sydney and is now teaching in Melbourne. She has tried many crafts including glass fusing, felting, lace work and screen-printing. Her current love is wool, which she knits and crochets into beanies, corsages, wrist warmers scarves and tags. The ‘Yarn Wrap’ is currently preparing work for the ‘Melbourne Satellite Reef’ a Hyperbolic Crochet Reef on display at the Burringja Gallery in Upwey from 9th October.

Check out an installation of knit graffiti at the Sweet Streets award show, 1000 Pound Bend: 8-24 October.

Get involved! Knit Graffiti and Craft workshops will be available during the festival. More info to be posted here…

http://yarnwrap.blogspot.com/

Also check out:

http://melbournesatellitereef.blogspot.com/

http://www.dneese.blogspot.com/

http://yarnbombing.com/