Do you think of Sydney as a street art capital? Yeah? Nah? Well, while we don’t have the same volume of famously ‘grammable, tagged-up laneways as some other unnamed Australian cities, you can find some pretty outstanding murals around our streets. The iconic work of artists like Scottie Marsh and Fintan Magee instantly comes to mind, both of whom are responsible for some huge (and sometimes controversial) outdoor artworks on city walls – and did you know that Newtown’s famous ‘I Have a Dream’ mural is heritage listed, even though it started its life as an illegal artwork? We also have some pretty amazing outdoor art and sculptures, to boot.
So, it seems that Sydney’s balance of quality over quantity was enough to get the Harbour City ranked as one of the best street art hotspots on the globe. Our city was able to sneak into the top ten of a recent study that listed the world’s street art capitals, placing eighth. While that position might not initially sound like something to write home about, it is a pretty strong achievement when you consider that the competition is literally the entire world – and apparently, Sydney’s street art credentials rank higher than both Montreal and Lisbon.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Melbourne beat us, ranking as the world’s third-best city for street art, with our southern frenemy also identified as having the highest number of murals of all 132 cities included in the study, at a whopping 2,317 pieces of outdoor art. (Yeah, we’ll tip our hat to that. They can keep their ranking, along with that one naff, gritty beach!) So, which cities beat Melbs? According to the study, Paris is the top city for street art in the world, with London taking out second place.
The new study by Betway analysed cities all around the world based on multiple metrics, including the number of murals, social media data, online engagement and search traffic. (Yeah, we wouldn’t ordinarily rely on random studies from online gambling companies for reliable data, but heck, we’ll take the win!)
In case you’re curious, here’s the full list of the top ten cities for street art around the world:
- Paris
- London
- Melbourne
- Berlin
- Los Angeles
- New York City
- Amsterdam
- Sydney
- Montreal
- Lisbon
If you’re looking to scout out some of Sydney’s best street art, city laneways and urban pockets like May Lane in St Peters are a good place to start. Just check out Time Out’s guide to the best street art in Sydney. Do you know of some stellar graffiti or major murals that we’ve missed? Let us know!
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