New festival Lava Lanes to put Mount Gambier on the street art trail

It has been in the pipeline for a decade but planning is underway to put Mount Gambier on the street art trail with a brand new festival.

Lava Lanes Mount Gambier Street Art Festival spokesman Ben Hood. Picture: Jessica Ball

One man’s decade-long dream to put Mount Gambier on the street art map almost came to fruition last year, then the pandemic hit.

Ben Hood and the artists responsible for the city’s vibrant murals are planning the inaugural Lava Lanes Mount Gambier Street Art Festival – named in honour of the region’s volcanic history.

“Back in 2011, I had an idea to do all these huge animal murals all around the city and call them a Blue Lake Crew but I always struggled to find walls to do them on,” Mr Hood said.

A street art concept entitled The Blue Lake Crew by Ben Hood. Picture: Ben Hood

The project was sidelined but Mr Hood, who is also a Mount Gambier councillor, said the public’s perception of street art has changed.

He said the group was excited to launch the festival in December 2021 or January 2022.

“There had been probably just a little bit of a hangover of thinking that street art is akin to graffiti and tagging and I think people have been able to see that there is some real artistry, some real skill and the pieces that are being produced are beautiful artworks in their own right,” he said.

“There’s a real opportunity for us to keep capitalising on that and add some more great colour and vibrancy to the city.

“A festival would run year-on-year in different places around the city to build up this outdoor gallery for community and visitors alike to enjoy.

“We also want to engage some digital technologies such as augmented reality within some of the murals so that people can use their smart devices and bring parts of their murals to life.”

Local artists are planning the inaugural Lava Lane Mount Gambier Street Art Festival. Picture: Charlene Riley

Mount Gambier artists April Hague and Charlene Riley will be involved with the inaugural Lava Lane Mount Gambier Street Art Festival. Picture: Charlene Riley

The creators behind Mount Gambier’s murals are all on board including April Hague, Charlene Riley, Justin Clake, Aileen Costales-Clark, Pariya Ziaka, Ruth Stevenson, Jeremy Ievins, Jennie Mathews and ten years later Mr Hood hopes to finally complete one of his Blue Lake Crew designs.

The group have their sights set on Short Place and are currently in discussions with landlords and seeking sponsorship, hoping to spend a week painting before the walls are unveiled to the public at a Friday night event.

Mr Hood said the murals would have a significant economic benefit.

“It’s not just a great thing to increase the beauty and the aesthetic value of the city, it’s also a really important driver for the visitor economy,” he said.

“The more attractions we can have to get to that critical mass where people need to stay an extra day to be able to see it all, that’s really important driver for Mount Gambier from a tourism aspect.”