Blue Bar

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Drinking has always played a major role in Australian culture. Renowned as heavy drinkers throughout the world, there is no doubt that Australians enjoy a few ‘bevvies’, for better or for worse. As major players in the Australian zeitgeist, drinking practices, and the institutions in which these occur, have naturally come to reflect many aspects of Australian culture. This tour seeks to examine the pub as a cultural hub, and to investigate the position of street art culture in Melbourne through this lens.

The first stop in the tour is Blue Bar. Located on Prahran’s bustling Chapel Street, one of Melbourne’s most fashionable and iconic streets, Blue Bar melts into its environment seamlessly. The bar employs an underground theme, focussing on the intertwined cultures of hip hop and street art. The walls are covered in murals and tags, hip hop music is blared from the speakers, and drinks are enjoyed within.

The Blue Bar serves as an ideal beginning to the Melbourne Street Art Pub Crawl. Street Art and Drinking are paired here in an overt and intentional way; the art is a selling point for the venue. This business model, in many ways, demonstrates the popularity of both these cultures in Melbourne.