Street Speak Celebrates Urban Art, Skating, and Local Youth Artists

The Clarendon skate park was abuzz with activity, with over 250 local young artists and supporters showing up for a popup celebration as part of the Street Speak urban art project on Sunday, 11 August.

The skate park, which had recently received a colourful upgrade, was the centre of the street art celebration. It played host to local youths and families with food and drinks, as well as skate workshops led by The Totem Collective.

Winners of the Street Speak competition, launched in May this year, were presented with $5,000 prizes and were given the chance to work with and learn from professional artists Mark Wilson from Redherring Arts and Cameron Marbus from Aerosol Obsessions, producing three large murals showcasing their new graffiti art skills.

The winners were:
• Colo High School,
• Merana Aboriginal Community Association for the Hawkesbury,
• Kuyper Christian School,
• RuffTRACK,
• Bligh Park Community Services.

The Street Speak competition’s winning artworks are currently on display in the Young Adult Section at Hawkesbury Central Library.

Meagan Ang, the Hawkesbury City Council Director of City Planning, said the pop-up celebration was a “wonderful success.”

“It was a busy and very interactive day for kids and parents alike. Many kids didn’t want to go home, they just wanted to keep skating and honing their skills,” Meagan said. “The way our local young people and partner organisations embraced the Street Speak project really demonstrates how activities and opportunities like this are so important in building and nurturing a healthy and vibrant community.”

Stencil artist Mark Wilson, also known as Redherring, paired with fellow artist Cameron Marbus to run the art workshops on the day with the winners.

“What a great experience it was teaching kids how to stencil using spray as part of the Hawkesbury Street Speak Project. Thank you to Hawkesbury City Council for the opportunity to be part of the program,” Mark Wilson said.

Mark has been known as Redherring since high school and has been doing art all his life, but he said he only became serious about it in the last six years.

“When I started painting, it felt natural to use the name Redherring to sign my work. The name is part of my history, and I like that a red herring is something that misleads or distracts intentionally.”

“I was inspired by Kirpy and E.L.K. (Luke Cornish) who have both had work in the Archibald Prize. I am not a graffiti artist, but I do like graffiti and street art and it is what inspired me to be an artist.”

When asked about if the perception of graffiti art is slowly changing in the local community, Mark said:

“I think that depends on what you classify graffiti as. Murals and street art are mostly accepted these days whereas tagging, I think, is still one of those art forms that is misunderstood.”

To Mark, events such as Street Speak give youth a place to learn, practice, connect and have fun.

“It would be great to open a few sites up around the Hawkesbury for artists to use as graffiti walls et cetera.”

“I would encourage artists to explore their creativity and express themselves in a way that is both artistic and respectful. Remember, graffiti is a form of art, and like any art form, it requires skill, practice, and a deep appreciation for the craft. Make your art in a safe space and make it count.”

Mark won the First Prize as a Local District Artist at this year’s Hawkesbury Agricultural Show and was a Jenny Birt Painting Prize finalist. He also participated in Group and Solo shows such as Royal Easter Show, and Political Pop! He is volunteering at the Ferry Artists Gallery and Macquarie Town Arts Society.

Cameron, a local South Windsor artist and TAFE teacher, seeks to change the public’s view on graffiti art. With his 27 years of experience, Cameron acknowledged that the perception of graffiti and tagging is slowly changing for the better.

“I don’t blame anyone for thinking what they do about graffiti, until they’ve met someone like me where I can kind of shake that grey area away.”

Years ago, the public thought we were all the same. It’s been a hard 10-15 years, but my friends and I have all grown up here and believe that going around doing these free murals has really shifted the perception. Now, people come up to us and compliment our work, even offering free cold drinks!”

Cameron shared with Hills to Hawkesbury Community News about a free mural he made with his friends Paul Zoeller from Paul.Riot and Andrew.

“I live local and I’ve always seen the wall and asked Allen, the owner of Foodworks, do you mind if we do something for free? It was a great Easter weekend, we spent the whole thing laughing and doing what we love. That’s something that money can’t put a price on,” he said.

In 2023, he and his friends also revitalised the Heritage Water Tank along the Windsor promenade in conjunction with the Windsor Rotary Club, combining iconic symbols of Windsor’s rich agriculture and a sense of youth culture to the historical area.

Cameron and Mark are both looking to change the narrative of urban artists and use events such as ‘Street Speak’ to create safe environments for the youth to practise and express their art.

The Street Speak project was funded by the NSW Government under the Graffiti Management Grant Application (Western Sydney).