We don’t get too many chances to get along to a public forum and talk on street art, and it’s even rarer that we have the opportunity to see some of Australias most knowledgeable street art advocates talk on the impacts of our beloved art form as a tool for shaping public awareness.

As a part of the Human Rights Arts and Film Festival, artists and community researchers and advocates such as stencil artist Boo, Fiona Hillary (Signal Youth Arts), Kate Shaw (ARC Linkage Project), Melbourne street artist Tom Civil and Lachlan Macdowell from the Centre for Cultural Partnerships at VCA/University Of Melbourne will be covering a range of great topics around the theme of human rights and street art.

“Public discourse surrounding street art is dominated by the continuing debate about cultural legitimacy and notions of ownership of public space. Yet, such discussions conceal one of the most important functions of street art, the creative freedom to be powerfully political and socially current. What are the issues engaging Melbourne’s street artists? Are human rights issues some of them? And are we giving our artists the freedom they need to engage the community? This forum is designed to bring together artists and the community to think about and discuss the role street art can and does play in shaping awareness in the urban realm.”

Also, as a massive bonus, Tom Civil will be painting a wall at RMIT this Friday, near the corner of Swanston st, ahead of his exhibition, Long Story.

This is sure to be an extraordinary discussion on the nature of art and social awareness, and we’ll be there to check it out.

(Photo via Tom Civils website)

Who: Boo, Fiona Hillary (Signal Youth Arts), Kate Shaw (ARC Linkage Project), Tom Civil and or f Lachlan Macdowell (Centre for Cultural Partnerships at VCA/University Of Melbourne)
What: Off The Wall: is street art an appropriate medium to voice human rights issues?
Where: RMIT Kaleide Theatre, 360 Swanston St, Melbourne
When: Wednesday, 23 May 2012, 6:00 pm

Check out the HRAFF website for more info on the event and the speakers.