WHEN Jarrod Wheatley first walked down Beverly Place, a dingy and neglected alleyway in Katoomba’s town centre, he didn’t see the obvious.
“The first thing that hit me as I walked down there was that everyone else would see this space as a bit of an eyesore for the town. But what I saw instantly was its potential as an urban art space. This has the scale required to become a tourist attraction,” he said.
As the co-ordinator of Street Art Murals Australia (SAMA) — a Blue Mountains organisation that has painted more than 100 murals since its inception in 2008 — Mr Wheatley is in a unique position to transform the blank canvas of 188,000 bricks into Katoomba’s newest drawcard.
The Blue Mountains Gazette revealed SAMA’s plans to paint 40 murals in Beverly Place earlier this month when it launched a crowdfunding campaign to fund the ambitious project. The street art walk will come together over four years and is expected to attract leading artists from around the country as well as SAMA’s own artists.
Mr Wheatley, 25, said the walk will breathe new life into the laneway that is bordered by Katoomba and Waratah Streets.
“Currently we have a space that is contributing very little, if nothing, to the town. It is a space that is filled with tags and skip bins. However, soon it will make a large contribution to the town. For example, it could be a great space for future festivals or markets,” said the former Wycliffe Christian School student.
Dave Riley is one local who would be thrilled to see that outcome. The owner of Riley Renovators moved his office to Beverly Place five years ago and showed Mr Wheatley the site after returning from a trip to New York where he was inspired by street art in Brooklyn.
“I think it could potentially re-energise the town,” he said.
For SAMA artist Giles Fryer, 25, the project will change perceptions of part of Katoomba he studiously avoided while growing up in the Mountains.
“As a young kid I knew not to walk down that alleyway. It wasn’t too safe to walk down there, especially at night because there’s no lighting... Even walking down there [now] on a bright sunny day it’s just very drab, so it will be a welcome change,” he said of the street art walk.
The final year law student can see Beverly Place becoming a magnet for tourists much like Melbourne’s Hosier Lane has. Located opposite Federation Square, the landmark laneway has even featured in Tourism Victoria advertising campaigns, thanks to its urban art.
Mr Fryer thinks the project will have benefits beyond tourism, too.
“There still can be a negative stigma attached to a person who holds a spray can,” said the former St Columba’s High School student.
“But this project is really about, not just creating this space, but also about trying to change people’s minds about those type of stereotypes and breaking down those barriers, and getting a bit more social inclusion for young people.”
Artists involved in the street art walk will be free to choose their own designs, something Mr Fryer believes will be a key to its success.
“One of the most important aspects [of legitimising street art] is enabling the artists to choose their own designs and create their own thematic murals — to push the boundaries of their own creative pursuits. Providing them with two- or three-storey canvasses on which to work is a great opportunity to do that,” he said.
Positive sentiments like this aren’t confined to the people likely to be spraying Beverly Place’s walls either. Associate Professor in Urban Geography at the University of Sydney, Kurt Iveson, is confident the Katoomba street art walk will have many benefits.
“Cities all over the world are starting to recognise the important contribution that street art can make to the quality of our urban environments. A growing body of research shows that street art adds colour and character into streetscapes, making them more appealing to residents and tourists alike,” he said.
“Further, street art projects can help produce more inclusive places by recognising the place of young people and youth cultures in our cities, and including them in the process of place-making.”
While the project’s fate will be sealed when the crowdfunding campaign closes at the end of this month, the man who helped start the ball rolling, Dave Riley, is already looking beyond Katoomba.
“I’ve even suggested to Jarrod that Katoomba’s just the start and we look at Wenty Falls next!” he said.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
SAMA’s crowdfunding campaign for the Katoomba street art walk — There is More to Street Art than Banksy — needs to meet an $18,000 target by the end of September.
People can pledge as little as $5, with a range of rewards on offer. For example, a person who pledges $20 will receive a shout out on SAMA’s weekly Facebook honour roll and a copy of the group’s hardcover street art book (RRP $30). A $2000 pledge will see SAMA artists paint a personalised mural for the donor (in the greater Sydney region). Plus they will receive five copies of the book, their name painted in street art and an online acknowledgement.
For more details on the campaign visit: startsomegood.com and enter SAMA in the search field.