St Kilda Junction Underpass: 100 Artist Mural Project
Every day, thousands of people move through St Kilda Junction. It's one of Melbourne's busiest transport interchanges, where roads, tram lines and pedestrian routes all meet.
By 2021, the pedestrian underpass had become tired. Years of wear and ageing infrastructure meant it had developed a reputation as a place people moved through as quickly as possible.
I was asked by the City of Port Phillip, the Department of Transport, VicRoads and Yarra Trams to coordinate the large-scale art project to bring the space back to life and be more inviting, in turn reshaping perceptions of the space, creating a safer, more inviting environment for the local community.
Over four days, close to 100 graffiti writers painted around 1,500 square metres of walls, tram stops and surrounding infrastructure.
Getting that many writers together doesn't happen by accident. Most of the work happened before the first wall was painted: curating artists, organising logistics and coordinating a project across one of Melbourne's busiest transport corridors.
“The junction artworks are the favourite part of my journey on public transport”
Melbourne has a deep graffiti scene, but it's rare to see that many writers painting together at the same time. The project brought together artists with everyone given the space to paint in their own way. That was important to me. I didn't want the walls to look like one artist had painted them—I wanted this space to reflect the breadth of style within the Melbourne graffiti scene.
By the end of the week, the underpass had been completely transformed. More importantly, it showed what can happen when the people who have shaped Melbourne's graffiti culture are trusted to work together on a project of this scale.
“Now the junction is covered in beautiful artwork, it’s uplifting to use the underpass”