Is stenciling simply glorified graffiti?
Have your say. Colourful “stencil” works on inner-city streets have made Melbourne a globally renowned hub for the controversial art form. But as debate rages in local councils about what constitutes graffiti, and how to prevent it, a festival is aiming to expose stencil art to new participants. Satta, who declined to reveal his birth name, is co-director of the Stencil Festival, which runs until Sunday before heading to Shepparton, Ballarat, Sale, Newcastle, Sydney and Brisbane. “I don’t go out there to piss people off,” he said. “I go out to beautify.” The festival began as the form exploded in the streets towards the end of 2003. Back then, the only people interested were artists themselves, the 32-year-old Brunswick man said. “Now we’re trying to broaden the audience. We get emails asking, don’t you want to come to Brazil? Well, yes!” Brazilian artists Rica P and Celso, members of the Sprays Poeticos Collective, merge poetry and street art in their performances, and are one of the
