PaintUp!

PaintUp! Images: David Russell Photography - February 2014

Hosier Inc is for anyone who loves Hosier Lane and Rutledge Lanes.

Membership is for anyone with a passion for this great place. We encourage a culture of respect in collaboration with artists, businesses, visitors, residents and the wider community. ‘PaintUp!’ is our first initiative funded by a City of Melbourne 2014 Arts Grant, featuring inspirational art installations high above street level. Join in: #paintup

#hosierinc

Find out more: hosierrutledge.wordpress.com/hi/

Stage One PaintUp! From Six Quality Submissions Six artists were invited by Hosier Inc members to submit a concept for a large-­scale image to be painted on the rear of McDonald House in Hosier Lane. This process marked the first stage of the project, which will be followed by another call for submissions later in 2014.

The 1930’s era multi-­storey building was about to receive a much needed exterior maintenance programme commencing in January 2014.

Structural Systems (Remedial) Pty Ltd were the appointed contractor to repair defective concrete spalling and cracks around the entire facade for the owners corporation. The swing stage went up on the rear south facing wall and immediately went to work.

Fortuitously, the grant awarded to Hosier Inc for their ‘PaintUp!’ submission became available in January, so negotiations proceeded feverishly between the association & Structural Systems.

Meanwhile, the Hosier Inc member group went into artist selection mode. A shortlist was quickly selected, as there was no time to lose - the window of opportunity before the swing stage was scheduled to move on to the next wall was extremely short.

A brief was drawn up & distributed to the six invited artists with a set of criteria. The successful proposal would demonstrate a rationale and a design that demonstrated an affinity with the location of the wall & building.

The painting would be approximately 5.5m wide x18m high - certainly one of the largest painting to date in the Melbourne CBD. One week later the submissions were compiled & a vote among members was tallied. Adnate had presented the successful submission. A hasty site meeting was arranged where the respective parties could meet & discuss the technicalities.

Thankfully the Structural Systems team came on board with invaluable assistance & advice, helping ensure the PaintUp! project proceeded without compromising the already tight maintenance programme.

The image below shows a montage of Adnate’s original submission, illustrating the portrait of an indigenous boy looking over the lane way & out toward the Yarra River.

Once Adnate was chosen, compliance of the site OH&S requirements satisfied & the subject’s family consent had been secured, the project could proceed.

Digital Mockup piece is to present the photo in way to represent the outcome of the As i work from a photograph, the best which i will reference.

Image courtesy David Russell Photography

Image courtesy David Russell Photography

Paint Up! commences in Hosier Lane Project takes art to a new level in Hosier Lane as community unites to embrace street art. (Melbourne, VIC).

Over three days, Melbourne-based artist Adnate transformed Australia’s most iconic lane way, painting a significant wall that has never before been available to any artist. This is the first instalment in a series of major artworks to be commissioned by local community association Hosier Inc. Their project, Paint Up! is part of an ongoing program of activities designed to activate the lane ways and create a safe and engaging environment for all to work, live, visit and enjoy the area.

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said Paint Up! will add a new element to Melbourne’s favourite public street gallery. “The City of Melbourne continues to work with the Hosier Lane community to improve safety and preserve the precinct’s reputation as a leading street art destination. Paint Up! is an innovative project that will add to the colourful and eclectic Hosier Lane,” the Lord Mayor said.

Chair of Arts at City of Melbourne, Councillor Rohan Leppert said: “Melbourne’s street art is internationally renowned and an attraction for local and overseas visitors. Adnate’s work in Hosier will add to the incredible standard of work seen throughout the city.”

“Everyone who loves and uses the lanes has a role to play in helping us maintain them, and they can all be a part of the association” said Luke McManus, Chair of Hosier Inc. “We see the art as a powerful instrument to activate the lane way in a positive manner – providing enhanced safety and unique experiences” he said.

Round one of Paint Up! has been delivered by well-known street artist Adnate on the rear wall of McDonald House.

His proposal is a powerful representation of the beauty and strength of the Australian Indigenous culture, in the form of a portrait rendered with evocative strokes of vibrant earthly colour. The subject of the piece is a local Wurundjeri, giving them the gift of stronger presence within Melbourne’s CBD, ever so close to significant sites such as Birrarung Marr. By choosing an indigenous child as his subject, Adnate hopes to embody the future – in his youth, the present – in his dramatic realistic presence and the past of the ancestors – in his eyes.

Scheduled for later this year, Round 2 of Paint Up! will see an equally prominent wall being made available. The opportunity will be offered by open invitation and artists are invited to contact Hosier Inc to express their interest in participating.

Image courtesy David Russell Photography

Hosier Inc is a not-for-profit association that formed in 2013 from a community-driven passion to address amenity issues by engaging art, culture and place. It aims to nurture the space with the help of all who have an interest in the area and want to take part. Members include residents and businesses, restaurants, artists, tourists, photographers and regular visitors.

About City of Melbourne Arts Grants The City of Melbourne Annual Arts Program has been a source of funding for artists and organisations for over 16 years. The Annual Arts Grants are central to maintaining the quality and diversity of the arts in Melbourne. The work produced through the grants is integral to the continual development of Melbourne’s artistic community.

To support Melbourne’s sustainable vision for the future, the City of Melbourne offers a wide range of grants and sponsorship opportunities to individuals, community organisations and businesses in the arts, recreation, events and business sectors.

This particular piece can be characterised as being street art. On 8 October 2013, the City of Melbourne’s Future Melbourne Committee endorsed a new draft Graffiti Management Plan 2014-2018 for public comment.

In a press release in October 2013 unveiling a four year plan to tackle graffiti Cr Foster said “...we also recognise that street art is a celebrated part of Melbourne’s cultural fabric and will work to cultivate the next generation of street artists to secure our reputation as a global street art destination.”

The plan suggests Council explore seeking general owner consent for street art in Hosier, Rutledge and Union lanes, removing the need for each individual artist to obtain a street art permit in those areas.

“By formally recognising these areas as significant sites in the development of our younger street artists, we hope to steer more aspiring artists towards street art as a legitimate alternative to tagging,” Cr Foster said.

Street Art in Melbourne The City of Melbourne has conducted research and community consultation which revealed that most people do not like graffiti ‘tagging’ (person writing their graffiti name or ‘tag’ on a wall with marker or paint). However, many people appreciate ‘street art’ such as larger, more artistic pieces, or murals placed in appropriate locations with the required permission.

In response, the City of Melbourne’s Graffiti Management Plan distinguishes between: •

the need to remove unwanted graffiti applied without permission, and

•

street art placed on walls and infrastructure with the blessing of property owners.

The City of Melbourne recognises the importance of street art in contributing to a vibrant urban culture. Melbourne’s street art has become internationally renowned and has become an attraction for local and overseas visitors experiencing Melbourne’s creative ambience.

Image courtesy David Russell Photography

About the Artist Adnate is an artist that realizes his portraits in spray paint. He has moved past his roots in graffiti, utilizing the medium to carry his realist style into the fine art realm. Heavily influenced by the chiaroscuro of renaissance painters like Caravaggio, Adnate embraces portraiture like the masters of the 16th Century.

Elevating graffiti art above the level of letter writing, Adnate’s subject matter and their subsequent status often belies the intent of his portraits. The gaze of modern society, cropped with colour from the street/ renaissance, he examines the idea of who we are looking at. In particular, those who we are obsessed by and how fragile the origin of that obsession is.

His works are often cropped by evocative slices of vibrant colour, channelling a presence of character, much like a still life uses it’s background as a setting for detail and showing of fine brush strokes. Adnate’s realism is highlighted by the use of what appears accidental, but is frequently calculated blocks of vibrant colour.

For more information about the artist, please contact Jacinta Cavalot. Jacinta@metrogallery.com.au. 03 9500 8511

Media Call Melbourne’s Lord Mayor Robert Doyle discusses the artwork with Adnate on the final day’s painting.

The event was covered by all free to air TV channels along with a page 6 photo in The Age and a gallery of images online at http://www.theage.com.au/ photogallery/national/hosier-lane-art-reaches-newheights-20140225-33fvy.html

Site Collaboration This project was conceived over twelve months prior to this first installation. The submission which received the City of Melbourne Arts Grant centred on getting access to the taller walls around the lane ways. Logistically, this was always going to be the great challenge - finding ways to get access without blowing the modest budget.

Meanwhile the owners corporation of 165 Flinders Lane had been developing a maintenance programme for some years prior to the January 2014 commencement, so it was a stroke of luck for Hosier Inc to have at its disposal a swing stage hanging on one of the key walls of interest for the PaintUp! project. Thanks to the accommodating and helpful management of the maintenance contractor Structural Systems Remedial, the opportunity to realize a key component of the project became reality.

The process required to facilitate the project was handed to Aaron Callegari, the project manager for the maintenance works. Getting access to the wall meant getting access to the building site, so a number of conditions of access needed to be addressed. Hosier Inc would need to ensure that Matt (Adnate) and any nominated assistants would need to be holding current white cards to satisfy OH&S requirements on site. In addition, they would need to be inducted onto the site and onto the swing stage.

Weight restrictions applying to the swing stage capacity meant that there would be a limit of two people on the stage. This left Matt and Hosier Inc with a decision - would it be worth inducting an artist’s assistant onto the swing stage to replace the swing stage technician? In the end it was decided the most appropriate outcome would be to utilize the Structural Systems technician as an artists assistant. This meant Fernando would now be working in the company of Adnate on the stage. The arrangement proved to be a great outcome for both practitioners. The Structural Systems team became key players in the realization of the artwork, and Matt received excellent building site support and experience from Fernando and Tony during the three days of painting.

Ultimately the project ran smoothly and without incident, thanks to a great collaborative endeavour. Many thanks go out to the Structural Systems Remedial team, including Richard O’Connor, Aaron Calegari, and of course Fernando and Tony.

Image courtesy David Russell Photography

For more information about Hosier Inc, please contact Luke McManus. lukey006@me.com

Image courtesy David Russell Photography

Image courtesy David Russell Photography

Media Call The project received coverage across press, television news & ABC radio. The City of Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle made an appearance in Hosier Lane for a quick chat with Adnate. The coverage was unprecedented for a street art project.

Image courtesy David Russell Photography

image courtesy David Russell Photography

Image courtesy David Russell Photography