TINA/walkARTbout flics & some history
Thursday, October 14th, 2010Newcastle’s This Is Not Art (TINA) festival is an annual event now in it’s thirteenth year! This year I was asked to be involved in walkARTbout along with several other artists, each designated wall space in the city to do their thing. TINA 2010 is special because it is the first year an actual street art component (well legal, anyway) has been added to the event program. This is somewhat surprising when you learn that the the festivals namesake is derived from the infamous (well, if you are from Newcastle) graffiti which once graced the then derelict Latec House.
Organizers in previous years had struggled to incorporate “street art” into the event with opposition from local townsfolk, business and council. This was mainly due to many misconceptions, fear and probably for the most part ignorance. Come 2010 however, attitudes have shifted and the addition of walkARTbout has been welcomed and the overall response has been a positive one, so much so, it will be a permanent fixture in the TINA program for years to come. Full credit and a special thanks must go to Festival Coordinator Simone Sheridan, walkARTbout Curator Carli Hyland and the rest of the TINA 2010 team.
Below, the infamous “This Is Not Art” piece…..
…..and here are a few snaps and video below from artWALKabout 2010.
Damien Mitchell
Daniel O’Toole aka Ears
yours truly
Trine Deans
Umpel (stencils) & Ben Foster
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjwdcn_WiLg[/youtube]
Video via Erik Strapparo
Australian artist TEZ is an all rounder, his art spans across an array of mediums including painting, sculpture, ceramics, screen-printing and vector illustration. Much of his work comprises of a combination of these mediums and often incorporates recycled materials and found objects. TEZ unveiled his debut solo exhibition “Sure Ain’t Sushi” at Sydney’s China Heights gallery in late 2009.
He resides in his “fibro castle” on the New South Wales Central Coast and more often than not can be found in his shed creating his next fresh piece or just plain old tinkering. 
