Katoomba Street Art Walk

Yesterday, I decided to go on a day trip with my daughter, as we often hit the road together. We both love the Blue Mountains, so it was a no brainer that we would be heading up there. We live in Sydney, so the Blue Mountains are only about an hour and half away and we knew we could be back in time for a friends dinner.

Been the first week of spring the weather in Sydney was beautiful and sunny and the forecast was sunny with a high of 22 degrees and the forecast for the Blue Mountains was sunny with a high of 17 degrees so after a quick wardrobe check we set off with our coffees in hand for a drive.

Been a Saturday the traffic was light and our chit chats made the hour and half feel like it was only a 20 minute drive.

So many people tell me they hate driving but I am quite the opposite, I treasure the time it gives me to bond with my passage.

After a blink of an eye we find ourselves exploring the streets that we both have walked up and down many times and of course the many cafes we have enjoyed many times before. However yesterday, something seemed different, we were in a cafe, we normal visit but this time from the corner of my eye, I see a mural that I am sure has been there a while but never noticed before. I felt a little puzzled as to why I had not seen it, on one of my many visit to Katoomba. Do I walk around with my head down ? Where was my mind last time I walked past ? Was it misty last time I have here ?

It was this beautiful face that caught my eye, so naturally we walked over to admire the work and explore what the artist was telling us.

We quickly realised, the work we were looking at was not the only one there, we were surrounded by amazing art, in a lane way or it could have been a street, that was full of amazing art.

As we walked from one to the other, we discovered that we were in fact in Beverley Place off Waratah Street and as the sign explained this was a community driven outdoor gallery which was created by Street Art Murals Australia (SAMA) with the help of Blue Mountains Cultural Centre and the local business in the Beverly Place.

We were both amazed by the beauty of the works and the high standard of the art. According to the sign in Beverley Place the Street Art Walk come to light in 2013 by a local resident Dave Riley who suggested painting murals in this laneway to SAMA’s (Street Art Murals Australia) founder, Jarrod Wheatley.

After doing a little bit more research I found out there is a wonderful website run by SAMA that explains the project. If you are intrigued as much as me click on the link ...https://myst.com.au/street-art-walk/

The website explains that SAMA worked for 18 months on meeting legal, heritage, planning, and stakeholder requirements and finally in June 2015 the space was launched with 135 individuals contributed.

I learnt that the Street Art Walk displays are all done with aerosol and many international and local artists of varying experiences painted these amazing artworks.

I know next time I am doing a DIY paint job with my aerosol can at home I will appreciate the technical skills these artist have.

Needless to say, the drive home was all about our new discovery and the wonderful day we sent in Katoomba.