You can barely turn a corner in Melbourne and its near city suburbs, without finding a heap of street art.

Art is certainly in the eye of the beholder and different styles appeal to everyone, but I like the fact that street art is a reflection of the times and social stories that affect a city. It often tells stories of the social fabric of a place and provokes thought and conversation on all types of themes including environmental and political topics.

These outdoor galleries are accessible to everyone and all styles of art are on show as you wander through to your destination. Or if you’re like me, the laneways are the destination, where you can spend a long time finding all the small and quirky individual pieces, amongst the large scale murals.

One of the latest huge scale artworks in Melbourne is of locally born artist, Kylie Minogue, and it can be seen very prominently overlooking Flinders Street train station. The artwork was created by artist Adnate and takes up the side of a 13 storey building. If you want to see it though you may have to be quick, because it was only intended to be on display for a short term as part of a commercial agreement with the Australian Football League, when she performed at the recent grand final.

It’s a very striking piece though with Kylie holding a disco ball inspired football. The mural took seven days to paint.

Other art filled laneways to find in Melbourne include Presgrave Place which is a little different to other laneways that are full of spray painted and graffiti art as this old cobblestone paved laneway is filled with quirky little framed artworks and 3D mixed media en masse. There are small hand framed portraits and even small artworks painted inside what look like old sardine cans.

There are also paste ups, larger murals and stickers adorning the old factory brick walls.

Another spot to visit is Warburton Lane which has some very sweet French themed paintings including the Eiffel Tower, a fleuriste (florist shop), a boulangerie (bakery), and café where you can place yourself into these trompe-l’oeil type scenes.

Perhaps the most well-known laneway for its enormous amount of street art though is Hosier Lane. There’s always something new to see here as well as some of the most photographed works from well-known artists in this field.

Enjoy the discoveries,

Glenys