Frankston’s premier street art festival returns for 2023
Published on 20 March 2023
Frankston’s legendary street art festival, The Big Picture Fest, is back!
The festival – proudly funded by Frankston City Council – features renowned street artists creating vibrant and edgy artworks on buildings and in laneways across Frankston CBD from 20 – 26 March 2023.
Mayor Nathan Conroy said the Frankston’s City centre takeover by a line-up of world-renowned artists will add to the transformation of the city’s buildings and laneways.
“Ten internationally renowned artists are preparing to take over our city centre streets and laneways in a weeklong celebration filled with live bands, street art tours, live street art painting, night walks, digital projections and street performances.
“Frankston will be the beneficiary of nine new large scale street art works from artists from around the globe, etching their stories on our walls. This bold and powerful festival will transform the city’s buildings and laneways into explosions of colour and movement telling stories and showcasing moments in history taking Frankston City's outdoor street art gallery to over 60 large scale artworks.”
Deputy Mayor Liam Hughes added there’s also great beats, food and beverages at the Block Party as the Big Picture Fest 2023 reaches its peak on March 24.
The Block Party is a free and fun celebration of street art along one of Frankston’s iconic laneways with bands, street performances, food trucks, local alcohol vendors and live street art painting. It features live performances by Teenage Dads, Zoe Fox and the Rocket Clocks and Muma Ganoush and street performance by The Snuff Puppets.
Enjoy street art, music and food trucks nestled into a laneway in the heart of Frankston City. The Block Party will be held in Thompson Lane on Friday, 24 March from 4.30pm to 10pm.
Plus on the same night you can also take part in the free self-guided Night Walk witnessing digital projections and night art concluding at the Block Party.
See street artists in action in the daylight hours on Gallery Lane, Park Row and Thompson Lane and as the sun sets, the lights turn on as you self-guide yourself towards a night time projection artwork and audio by Filip Roca in Park Lane.
This projection animation is a first for Victoria – so don’t miss it! End the Night Walk at The Block Party on Thompson Lane.
Night Walk
When: Friday 24 March, 4.30pm – 10pm.
Where: Starting point Gallery Lane/Station Street, live painting through Gallery Lane, Park Row End and Thompson Lane finishing up at The Block Party, Thompson Lane.
Cost: Entry is free and tour is self-guided.
Deputy Mayor Hughes said Frankston City’s award winning Street Art Tours are a fantastic way to view the artworks.
“From 20 – 26 March you can watch internationally renowned street artists create amazing new artworks across Frankston City's buildings and laneways as part of The Big Picture Fest. There are nine new walls being painted during the festival, so now's the chance to see the artists at work and perhaps meet some along the way.
“A Guided Street Art Walking Tour is by far the best way to discover the City's new and existing artwork and across the Big Picture Fest weekend they are free! On Friday 24, Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 March, free tours will be running every hour on the hour.
“Tours will take you through Frankston's laneways and streets to find out how artists, from the local burbs, Melbourne, New Zealand, France, Germany and Italy are shaping Frankston's urban identity by creating unique pieces of public art for everyone to enjoy.”
Artists participating in this year’s festival include Smug One, Katherine Gailer, Hard Thirteen, Sofles, Maria Pena, Heesco, Matthew Mistery, Hayden Dewar, Olana Janfa and Abbey Rich.
Big Picture Fest curator Joel Van Moore (aka Vans the Omega) said: “This year feels like such an achievement with a critical mass of walls achieved, which has ongoing effect in the community.
“The goal personally was to inspire youth and the community as a whole and create a brighter outlook to anyone who visits Frankston. It’s time to celebrate and move into the next chapter of the festival with digital projections by world famous Filip Roca, a night walk and the augmented reality works on year round display. We are also including a gallery exhibition and other technologies that enhance the experience of The Big Picture Fest 2023.”
For more information, please visit https://www.discoverfrankston.com/.