Street art is an age old art form. Over thousands of years humans have drawn cartoons on the walls of the Forum in ancient Rome, told tales on the tomb walls of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt and recorded their lives on the walls of caves in the Palaeolithic era. To reflect this rich history and connect it with today, the 2014 ST.ART Festival is teaming up with the Bookend Trust’s ’16 Legs’ and ‘Cave Art Open’ programs to deliver street art with a history.
During second and third terms this year, a school workshop program has empowered students to create works reminiscent of ancient cave art but with a modern twist. The works combine modern aerosol sprays with charcoal and ochre and will be on display in a custom made ‘cave’ during the Festival.
Alderman Doug Chipman, the Mayor of Clarence said that inspiring young people toward legitimate artistic expression was helped when they are shown that they too are a part of the history of telling stories through their art.
“There’s a great gulf between destructive tagging and the development of artistry in our young people. By exploring the history of art styles and adapting the ancient into modern forms we are encouraging participants towards positive creation,” Mayor Chipman said.
As well as retaining the ST.ART Festival’s favourite components such as free spray, stencilling and dirty car reverse graffiti, the Schoolhouse Gallery and The Barn will be featuring exhibitions inspired by Tasmanian caves and endemic cave spiders.
Other new components for this year’s festival include web bombing with Team Textiles, creating spider webs and spiders and a tribal sound track performance by DJ Wax Doctor West.
WHAT: ST.ART Street Art Festival: Primitive
WHEN: 1-4pm, August 23rd
WHERE: The Rosny Farm
ST.ART is a free family festival.
Alderman Doug Chipman, Mayor of Clarence
