The paint is nearly dry on the final wall in the first Ipswich Brisbane Street Art Festival. If you haven’t already seen these stunning works by some of Australia’s finest muralists and street artists now’s the time to come on down.
This is the first time the Brisbane Street Art Festival has come to Ipswich. The city’s historic laneways and walls have been transformed in recent weeks. The sunny streets of Ipswich are now even brighter with seven works that range from abstract to social realism.
The inaugural Ipswich festival kicked off with a jam-packed weekend of events to celebrate and experience street art. The program of workshops covered aerosol skills and other techniques that street artists use to create large-scale murals. Art buffs from across South East Queensland saw the artists in action.
Originally the festival was planned for May but due to Covid-19 many of the events needed a re-design to incorporate social distancing. A live-streamed Swich Up party showcased the artists with a program featuring local musicians.
Meet the artists below and see their walls!
Rachel Sarra
Rachel Sarra is a local, contemporary artist and a Goreng Goreng woman. Rachel was one of the two illustrators of the children’s book “Our Home, Our Heartbeat”. She created her first mural a little over a year ago.
Her mural for Ipswich Festivals and Brisbane Street Art Festival is titled “Distant Country” and her canvas is the largest in the festival at Ipswich Health Plaza. Instagram: @sar.ra_
Fintan Magee
Fintan Magee’s Two Figures behind Glass depicts two rail workers behind bevelled glass.
It pays tribute to the essential workers who continued to work during Covid-19 and is also a reminiscence from his childhood.
His works often depict personal stories to start a conversation about bigger issues like global warming and immigration. His numerous works can be seen in Australia and abroad. Instagram:@fintan_magee
Emily Devers
Emily Devers has totally transformed a nondescript wall at the Ipswich Art Gallery at d’Arcy Doyle Place into something quite spectacular.
Her work is a “reflection on the experience of isolation as a practising artist and transition as a gallery owner”. Based in Brisbane, Emily is a large scale muralist and Director of the Third Quarter Gallery. Instagram: @emily.devers
Ash Taylor
Ash Taylor’s mural, which is on the wall of Dancing Bean cafe on Brisbane Street, features a closed fist holding a bunch of wattle, against a backdrop of other native flowers. “It’s about mental health, which I think is quite fitting right now,” Taylor said.
“I want it to remind people to just take a moment and breathe when it all gets too much.” Instagram: @ashtaylr
Gus Eagleton
Combining a near photo-realism with an unrealistic edge, Gus Eagleton’s work is held in private collections in Europe and adorns walls nationwide and in Asia. He uses a considered colour palette and each of his striking murals evoke a particular story. Instagram: @instaguss
Jordache
Also from Brisbane, Jordache Castillejos draws from cubism and futurism, contemporary art, post-graffiti and street art. He has left his mark on silos and streetscapes and even a Granite Belt brewery. His large scale mural work can be seen both in Australia and Nepal. Instagram: @its.jordache
Styna
Based in Western Sydney, Christina Huynh is both illustrator and muralist. Her trademark storytelling style always is very much of place. She has worked with the National Library of Australia, NSW Department of Education, NSW State Archives, Westfield, Nude by Nature, WestWords, Sydney Fringe Festival, Banna Group Property and WestConnex. Instagram: @stynabyna
Finding your way around
The recently completed Ipswich Art Trail is a compact stroll across the CBD. Meander the back lanes and streets at your own pace to view the seven completed murals. This might just be the perfect way to enjoy contemporary art and socially distance at the same time.
Cafe’s nearby the Ipswich CBD street art include Fourthchild, Dancing Bean, Oikos, Rafter and Rose and The Retro Diner.
To see some of the older street art works in Ipswich click through to the Ipswich Central Street Art Trail.
