Hosier Lane in Melbourne, Australia.

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May 23, 2025

Walking the line between art and crime with graffiti in Australia

15-year-old Anastasia Kulikova visits Melbourne’s famous street art lanes, where artists let their imaginations paint the walls

I recently visited Hosier Lane and Rutledge Lane in Melbourne – two of the city’s most famous open-air art galleries. Every inch of the walls are covered in street art in different materials and different styles. It’s a ‘free-to-paint’ area, where both local and international artists can express their say without having to ask for permission.

Melbourne is the street art capital of Australia, with certain laneways designated as showcases by the city council. Besides, as a tourist attraction alone, Hosier Lane attracts about 1.4 million visitors a year, which helps the city’s economy.

Hosier Lane and nearby Rutledge Lane are frequented by countless street artists, including some big names. Among them is Adnate, one of Melbourne’s best and recognised internationally. His work includes a 23-metre-high portrait of an Indigenous boy on the back of McDonald House.

This particular mural has even featured on an Australian stamp. It was part of the Street Art issue of four stamps in 2017, celebrating works in Melbourne and Adelaide.

Street art regulation in Australia is quite interesting: it’s illegal in some areas but protected in others. According to the Arts Law Centre of Australia, artists should be mindful of possible legal implications, which can include criminal charges. Without proper permission, simply possessing a “graffiti implement” with the intent to tag property can be grounds for a criminal case. Trespassing is another concern, as typical legal defenses often don’t apply in those situations.

Therefore, securing permission not only protects artists from legal risks but also opens up opportunities, making them eligible for awards and reducing the chances of their work being removed.

Portrait by Adnate in Hosier Lane, Melbourne, Australia.

Picture by: Anastasia Kulikova

One of the things that I appreciate most about street art is its ability to make a dull or neutral wall into a beautiful, meaningful work of art. Therefore, it’s no longer just a wall – it becomes a purposeful decoration of a city. Beyond the visual, the idea that it serves as a platform for artists to speak up is really intriguing.

Hosier Lane opened as a public street art gallery in 1998 and, of course, is not the same as it was then. As upsetting as it may seem, it’s completely acceptable for one artist to paint over another’s work if they envision something better for that space, to keep the lane alive. Some artworks are preserved by collective agreement – such as a painting of Ganesh by DEB, which has been maintained since 2010, with other artists repainting it whenever it gets tagged.

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However, there is a less appealing side to it as well. While these walls burst with beautiful cacophonies of colours and shapes, the roads themselves often seem neglected due to their uncleanliness and strong odours. Local cleaning efforts appear to overlook this area, since graffiti tagging tends to be associated with marginalised communities, highlighting deeper social challenges that I find unfortunate.

Compared to the clean and orderly streets of the rest of Melbourne, this place was a noticeable contrast, with garbage lying around. This points out the need for shared social understanding: just because street art and graffiti are permitted, it shouldn’t serve as an excuse for careless dumping of trash. Maintaining such places respectfully might even incentivise the opening of more free-to-paint lanes in the future.

I think Melbourne made a great decision in designating this lane as an open art space. It’s incredibly inspiring – not only for the artists who come to express themselves but also for visitors, which strengthens collaboration and community in a unique way.

Written by:

Anastasia Kulikova

Writer

Sydney, Australia

Born in 2009 in Saint-Petersburg, the cultural capital of Russia, Anastasia spent a year as a student in Sri Lanka. Then, since December 2023, she has lived in Sydney, Australia. She is part of Harbingers’ Magazine’s Sri Lankan Newsroom.

In her free time, Anastasia enjoys reading and playing musical instruments. She likes to participate in musicals and is fond of travelling.

Anastasia can fluently speak English and Russian while trying to learn Spanish.

Edited by:

Sofia Vorobei

Culture Section Editor 2025

El Vergel, Spain

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