Banksy: Girl with a Balloon
Sandra Powell and Andrew King decided to auction off early modernist work – paintings by such luminaries as Clarice Beckett, Joy Hester and Sidney Nolan. Then a chance reading of books by Banksy and Blek Le Rat in a London bookshop seven years ago led them to a new kind of collecting. It was directed towards street art and has since been their main preoccupation as collectors.
Impressed by the wit, humor and intelligence of street art in London, they returned to Melbourne eager to discover what artists were doing in our streets.
What followed was an extraordinary pilgrimage as the pair tracked down the best of our street artists and graffiti artists. Powell, in particular, was determined to meet the artists and she speaks intensely about her ways of developing relationships with them – whether on the street where they crafted their masterpieces or in their studios. The excitement and expertise of course is seen to go both ways. Just as Powell and King learn more about street art so the artists learn from them how to be artists full-time; how to run a business and how to do so without losing a certain rebelliousness that characterises street art.
In 2010 they organised a New York exhibition with 13 of the best Australian street artists, celebrating Melbourne which is ranked the fifth most important city in the world in relation to its street art. .
The interview below explores the extent to which Street Art including letter-writing is one of the most important art movements in our history and after listening to this interview you will be equally persuaded and be wanting to know of ways of being involved.
