Your Guide To The Best Meanjin/Brisbane Street Art Photographers
On a recent podcast we did with Canadian street artist, Nick Sweetman, he told me that he was advised by artists and friends in other states of Australia that there wasn’t much street art to be found in Brisbane and that it was only worth a quick trip.
This is, unfortunately, a common view that non-Queenslanders have of this State’s capital: Meanjin/Brisbane. While it may have been true, many years ago, artists like Drapl — who has run a thriving mural business in Brisbane for more than a decade — would strongly dispute that there is nothing to be found in Brisbane. His work is, after all, literally sprawled across the whole city.
You can even listen to Drapl talk about Brisbane’s history of street art and graffiti on the Street Art Unearthed podcast.
Rising Street Art Appreciation
In recent years, organisations like the Brisbane Street Art Festival have helped Brisbane to embrace street art on a massive scale. Going from something sparse and allowed only at the individual approval of property owners, to coordinated and professionally orchestrated, allowing the city to attract huge names in street art from all across the country, as well as abroad.
Platforms like Street Art Cities have even established in Brisbane, thanks to consistent, strong work by artists, as well as the photographers responsible for capturing and sharing locations and shots.
While Brisbane may not have the graffiti-covered laneways or entire suburbs with art on every street, there is no shortage of street art worth hunting yourself or checking out through your Instagram feed. Thanks to dedicated Brisbane street art hunters, you can access the best Brisbane street art from wherever you may be.
9 Meanjin/Brisbane Street Art Photographers You’ll Want to Follow
While street art has entered the mainstream and is loved and appreciated by many, we don’t often realise that this widespread appreciate of street art could not have been possible without those who capture and share it. From the early days, to now, photographers have been an integral piece of the puzzle, sharing artists work with the world.
Today, thanks to social media, it doesn’t matter where you are in the world, you can daydream about incredible art in far-flung locations, thanks again to those who document it.
For your fix on the street art in Brisbane, you will want to check out the following nine street art photographers:
David Skinner — @dkjstreetartphotography
We’ve mentioned David before, in our Australia’s Must-Follow Street Art Photographers article. David is a Brisbane based photographer who has been working hard to document Brisbane’s street art scene. He is even responsible for the Brisbane coordination of the Street Art Cities app, which you can download to find street art locations in cities around the world.
Art by Treazy.
David has a killer collection of street art images from Brisbane, broader Australia and even the UK. To keep a real focus on Brisbane, however, he has recently set up the Brisbane Street Art account. We recommend you follow both.
Secret Wall Hunter — @lamprima2000
This account is a great one to follow for a nice mix of both street art and graffiti art in Brisbane. Graffiti art in Brisbane can be underrated compared to its appreciation elsewhere. It’s fantastic to see photographers taking the time to give graffiti in Brisbane the star status it deserves.
Art by Sofles.
Secret Wall Hunter posts fairly regularly and seems to have a good knowledge of the artists behind the work.
Mark McCormack — @mark_mack67
Mark may not consider himself a dedicated street art photographer — more of a cyclist who loves finding street art trails to keep his routes interesting –, but even unintentionally he has become a prolific figure in Brisbane, doing lots of great research to find the best street art cycle routes, one of which we have even written about. Check out the Fortitude Valley Street Art Cycle Tour.
Artist unknown.
Mark is an amazing resource for cyclists and general street art lovers who want inspiration for a unique tour of street art in Brisbane.
Sharon — @shazzcelestepix
Sharon is a great photographer taking loads of awesome snaps of street art in Brisbane and beyond, including Melbourne. Not only is her photography first class, but Sharon seems to have an in-depth knowledge of the local scene, which she shares in her posts.
Art by Soda Mouf.
Sharon posts new images daily and does a fantastic job offering the location, artist tags and other helpful information to help you find the pieces yourself or find which artists to follow for more.
Shaun Devrieze — @mo_adventures_aus
For all of the motorbike and street art lovers out there, this account is for you. Shaun combines his enthusiasm for riding with his love for street art to capture snaps — with his bike and Elmo helmet in frame — of the best street art and graffiti art in Brisbane.
Artist unknown.
Shaun is posting daily pictures of quality street art and graffiti from all across Brisbane city and outer suburbs. This is a great account to follow for pieces out of the main city centre.
Graham Adkins — @adkins.graham
Graham really should be in a Queensland street art photographer list, but in lieu of having one of those, we want to make sure he gets a mention in here. Graham looks to travel the State capturing much of the beautiful regional art that has been going up in recent years.
Artist unknown.
Graham’s account includes pieces from Brisbane, as well as broader Queensland, to serve as some inspo to travel further afield.
While Out in Brisbane — @whileoutinbrisbane
This is a really cute account that doesn’t favour big murals, but instead captures loads of the cool stencil work, paste-ups and other smaller pieces that are dotted around Brisbane.
Artist unknown.
While Out in Brisbane posts fairly regularly and always has an interesting perspective on what they’re capturing.
Cheri Desailly — @cheridesailly
While Cheri is not exclusively a street art photographer, and her account has a variety of other subjects included, it would be remiss to leave her off this list. When Cheri does capture street art in Brisbane, she often gets close to artists, capturing them in action to complete the piece of the picture we often don’t get to see when just viewing the finished mural.
Art by Jay of The Brightsiders.
Cheri is a photographer by trade, so you can be sure to appreciate all of her images, street art or not.
Ande Dawson — @ande_dawson
Another one who covers a lot of ground across regional Queensland, as well as interstate and locally in Brisbane, is Ande. On this page, you can expect to find street art and artwork by street artists, both snapped by Ande and some reposted to highlight other great work.
Art by Shani Finch and Dank Zappa.
Ande posts regularly and does a great job crediting artists and including locations.
What About Other Aussie Cities?
Glad you asked… We’re on a mission to identify and elevate the best street art photographers around the country. So far we have your Melbourne photographers, Sydney photographers, and a good Australia-wide spread to keep your feed filled to the brim with quality art.
If there are photographers in your city doing great work to capture the local street art scene, please do drop us a line via Instagram to let me know who they are.
