During this year's CinefestOZ (26-30 August 2015), an interesting sidebar to the film festival was a walk through an outdoor graffiti art museum in the seaside town of Bunbury in southwest Australia. Six Two Three Zero was created by local artist Andrew Frazer (http://andrewfrazerdesigns.com) to provide an outdoor display for gifted Australian graffiti artists. What began as an experimental platform, Six Two Three Zero is quickly becoming a nationally recognized outdoor museum with its own annual festival, an event and display which promises to grow exponentially in coming years.
In a recent interview with Andrew about his street museum, here is what he had to say:
What made you decide to embark upon the journey of an outdoor street art museum in Bunbury?
ANDREW: I was originally inspired through various street art in Perth, Western Australia by particular artists like Stormie Mills. I loved how the art engaged people & encouraged a response. When seeing a series of large murals painted in Richmond, Virginia on a road trip a number of years ago I discovered the Richmond Mural Project & loved seeing how the art was developing & strengthening the local community. It sparked an idea... 'I wonder what this would look like in my home town of Bunbury?' ... & so the adventure began!
What were and are the challenges?
ANDREW: Receiving permission to paint various exterior walls was & still is quite a challenge, thought it is becoming more widely accepted as the festival grows. It's often a case of misunderstanding, but quite often when sharing the vision of ReDiscover over a cup of coffee the respective property & business owners are receptive to having their wall painted.
What do you see as the future of this street art museum and/or your goals?
ANDREW: My vision is that the created street art becomes a catalyst in developing a culture that celebrates creativity. If we as a community collectively celebrate the arts & various forms of creativity, then we in turn create a more beautiful city to call home. We welcome people into this experience & allow the reputation of our city to attract people from all over the world.
Do you think this museum will bring more traffic into Bunbury and that the rest of the country will see it as an important art/culture zone?
ANDREW: Evidence says yes even after only running the festival for two years. We have seen a significant increase in foot traffic into Bunbury's CBD & I trust that this will only increase as the number of murals continues to increase. We are passionate about supporting local business & through the murals being in walking distance to each other, there is an accessibility that you may not find in other larger cities. We are creating something very unique in Bunbury on the back of it's already strong history of public sculptural art. Our collective voice is saying 'You are welcome to come & ReDiscover Bunbury!'
Can you tell us about the short film you made about the outdoor museum?
ANDREW: The short film was created by my good friend Chad Peacock from Peacock Visuals. Chad has a brilliant understanding of film & how to capture story which is essential in the vision of who we are as ReDiscover. We wanted to create a short film that welcomed the viewer into the journey of how a small idea can grow into beautiful movement of creativity that encourages & strengthens community. We want to stay grounded in where we have come from in order to provide context in where we are going & I think Chad has done this incredibly well.
Does CinefestOZ help the local arts of the region?
ANDREW: From my understanding CinefestOZ has played a significant role in supporting & inspiring local art practises within the South-West region. We often separate various art mediums into categories, but I love when there is an overlapping experience that challenges our preconceptions of what is 'acceptable' & 'correct'. For me, film captures this notion perfectly.
Check out his short films on the subject of this colorful outdoor mesum here:
ReDiscover 2015:
01.10.2015 | CinefestOZ Film Festival's blog