Bendigo Street Art Self Guided Walking Tour
Bendigo has long been a haven for creative types. If its beautiful scenery and historic buildings aren't already enough to capture your attention, a bunch of amazing artists have made it more colourful by adding their own creative touches all over the city.
Map Showing Street Art Locations
A - View Street Precinct
View Street has always offered a great experience for the creative traveller. There's a great mix of old and new as you scale the hill towards Bendigo Art Gallery. While the Gallery is known for putting on world class exhibitions, there are also a few lesser known art experiences close by.
Gallery Sculpture Garden - If you're drawn towards climbing the poppet head while scaling View Street you'll likely see many of the sculptures surrounding the Bendigo An Gallery.
1. Sometimes the Dead are More Alive than the Living - This Wombeyan marble sculpture by Alex Seton forms part of his exhibition tided Monument and brings temporal and existential truths into question without taking itself too seriously. By artist Alex Seton.
2. Folly - Designed purely for decoration, a 'Folly' was often included in 18th century ornamental garden designs for visual and aesthetic pleasure. By artist Sebastian Di Mauro.
3. Chase the Dragon - Located at Dudley House, this sculpture is the result of an artist exchange program between the City of Greater Bendigo and the City of Onkaparinga. It provides a lasting legacy of the friendship forged between the two cities. By artist Westley Tully.
4. Happy Ending? A large, shimmering black fibre-glass sculpture depicting a teddy bear gazing in the direction of a small bird that appears to have fallen from a tree. The bear is covering his eyes as if to cry, which captures a turning point or key moment in an undisclosed narrative, the outcome of the bird's fall is not yet known. Can the observer bring this troubling scenario to its rightful conclusion? By artist Michael Doolan.
5. Peter Stared into the Vast Unknown - Peter is a reminder of the way Australians relate to rabbits. As children, we were brought up with Beatrix Potter-style stories, while at the same time we were fighting the species with guns and diseases. Calvert also says that moment when they are fully upright on their hind legs, curious and alert, was also the point at which they could be shot with ease. By artist Matt Calvert.
6. Piazza - This public space is often used for temporary artwork and installations. It also offers an amazing vantage point towards the park and the surrounding city scape. Look closely at the ground to find some speckles of colour that remain from the pavement mural that celebrated the Mary Quant exhibition in 2021. Lead artist: Happy Decay in collaboration with Nacho Station and Explore Bendigo.
B - Dudley House
Dudley House is a gallery space managed by the City of Greater Bendigo, it has a constant rotation of local exhibitions. From contemporary art, textiles, sculpture, fine art and everything in between. It's always worth popping your head in to see what's on offer.
C - Pall Mall Precinct
Bendigo Visitor Centre - Located in the former post office, the Bendigo Visitor Centre is also home to a number of creative spaces including the Living Art Space.
Tram Journey Mural - Located inside the Bendigo Visitor Centre, the mural by local artist Frankie O captures many of Bendigo's iconic images such as the Alexandra Fountain, the Bendigo Town Hall, the Rosalind Park Poppet Head and a Bendigo tram.
D - Bath Lane Precinct
7. Exhibit B - A gallery space located at Bendigo Bank Central, this creative hub showcases works by local artists. Established by the City of Greater Bendigo and supported by Bendigo and Adelaide Bank. In Bath Lane, sculptures of a Film reel and Hamlet's Bath, are an ode to the laneway's history, while First Nations mural The Cultural Flower, Jack Fran's Girl with Wattle, Laity Lane's Flying Man and Daisy Leg's Geometric Shapes bring new life to the precinct.
8. Daisylegs A colourful, geometric mural which represents a map of Bendigo and how much Bendigo has grown. Commissioned by the City of Greater Bendigo and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank in 2017.
9. Baby Guerilla Renowned street artist Baby Guerilla has installed a dream-like piece of art which sees a suited office worker hand painted on to a wall. The figure can be perceived as floating, falling or levitating depending on the intent of the viewer. Commissioned by the City of Greater Bendigo and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank in 2018.
10. Pennyweight Walk - Running between Bath Lane and Hargreaves Street, this open-air gallery was established by the City of Greater Bendigo in 2014. The display changes every so often.
11. Jack Fran -This stunning mural is the work of Adelaide artist Jack Fran in collaboration with local group Nacho Station. If you're lucky enough to view this mural at the right time of day, you'll see the blue lady tipping her hat to the sun as a heavy shadow cuts across the wall.
E - Chancery Lane
An eclectic mix of food, fashion and art has awakened one of Bendigo's most endearing laneways. Works were first commissioned in 2012 until they grew and evolved to what you see now.
Originally known as Dispensary Lane in recognition of the busy pharmacy that was once located on the laneway, Chancery Lane is now home to a number of street art pieces. Take a walk down the laneway and see for yourself.
12. Chris Duffy - Duffy applies his iconic pop art style with a healthy dose of humour and fun. One of Bendigo's active street artists, Duffy's work can be spotted throughout the streets of Bendigo.
13. Paste Up Wall - Bursting with local and regional creative expression, the paste up wall is one of the draw cards to this thriving laneway. Local and visiting artists are encouraged to contribute their own paste up creations in this laneway.
14. Commissioned Murals - Located at the Hargreaves Street end of Chancery Lane, these murals have been commissioned by the City and various community partners, they are updated with new works from time to time.
F - AKA Dimples Lane
This laneway has a mix of commissioned and non-commissioned works, a popular spot for local street artists looking to share their mark with the world. Local street artists have named this Dimples Lane.
15. Geoffrey Carron and Rowena Martinich - Commissioned by Villawood and the City of Greater Bendigo in 2021, this colourful artwork depicts endangered birds from the region.
16. Mr Dimples - You might have noticed the quirky characters around every corner as you walk the streets of Bendigo. These Tim Burton inspired characters are created by prolific local artist Nathan Sims. The characters often represent a person in the artist's life, often seen challenged or confronted by their surroundings.
G - Lyttle Eat Street
A bustling mix of food and art, watch this space as it continues to grow into a must visit food and art precinct. Located around the Lyttleton Terrace area you'll find a few hidden gems.
17. George Rose - This colourful mural intends to prompt a feeling of warmth with its audience. There is a subtle movement created by the iconic G.Rose colour fade. Punchy and colourful from a distance, with elegant use of colour up close.
Bendigo Bank Window Display - Check out this week's local artist on display. With a series of large frames in the window along Mitchell Street, this space is available for local makers to display and sell works at no charge to the artist.
18. Minna Leunig - Leunig's iconic natives are hard to miss as they calmly watch over this busy intersection.
Location
View Street, Bendigo 3550 Map
Web Links
→ www.bendigoregion.com.au/explore-bendigo/artist-walk
→ Bendigo Street Art Self Guided Walking Tour (PDF)
