Absence of Graffiti

Graffiti is everywhere from schools, businesses, homes and pretty much anywhere else with a plain surface is subject to it. Melbourne is known for its graffiti culture, however its landmarks are noticeably free of graffiti. The U.S. department of justice reports, "Graffiti contributes to lost revenue associated with reduced ridership on transit systems, reduced retail sales and declines in property value.” The same could be said about any municipality including Melbourne. This tour will not only look at the graffiti in prominent locations in the CBD, but also the absence of it.

Location 1: The Queen Victoria Market

The Queen Victoria Market originally started out as a cemetery and went though many more changes before finally becoming the largest open air market in the southern hemisphere. Its website signifies it as “The heart and soul of Melbourne for over a…

Location 2: Melbourne GPO

Cameron Mcauliffe maintains “Graffiti typically relates to a range of practices from tagging through to elaborate “pieces” (from masterpiece) with a focus on stylized words and text, usually including the tag name of the artists/writers and their…

Location 3: Flinders Street Station

Street art has been known to reduce the ridership on transit systems. A bus full of graffiti may be assumed to be dirty and/or associated with gang ridership, which in turn gives the feeling that it is unsafe. It is increasingly popular to deface…

Location 4: Ian Potter Centre NGV

Otherwise known as Federation Square is located adjacent to St Paul’s Cathedral and across the street from Flinders Street Station. As a mixed-use development that highlights local art, plays and also hosts local gatherings for events such as…

Location 5: Hosier Lane

Hosier Lane is the most popular lane way for street art in all of Melbourne. The lane way is internationally known as one of the most popular places in the world to do graffiti. There is so much street art done in the wall that there is relatively no…