Many street artists have their worked sprayed over all the time, and there is no public outcry or editorial in the newspapers. Street art has no timeline: it could be up for 5 mins, 5 days or 5 years. To remain untouched, untagged is up to the universe.

It’s fabulous that Bansky shared his work and love in Melbourne. We are fortunate to have enjoyed the work of this British artist for some years now.

The trade person who drilled into that wall in Prahran probably had no idea or understanding that Bansky is famous and expensive. It is a story in itself. It adds to the history of the wall and the history of what was.

Are we sad that the Bansky was destroyed because it’s worth x amount of dollars or are we sad because we lost another Bansky of our walls? Parachuting Rat was the third Banksy destroyed in 2 years – vandals damaged one in Fitzroy in 2011 and council workers painted over another one in Melbourne CBD the year before.

This is an interesting debate and, regardless of your opinion, watch Exit Through The Gift Shop: A Banksy Film. It is a must-see documentary.

I can understand this. Business is a full-time job. It is difficult to make the work and then negotiate the sale of the work.

However, how do you be an agent and earn an income? This is a tricky question, as artists generally do not have extra cash to pay for a right hand person. It’s not only about selling works and receiving a commission. It is about listening, offering advice and giving solutions to the artist, understanding situations and being their voice when the artist is too afraid to speak up.

I have talked to many artists who are with great galleries; however, they do not sell any work. They sold previously to being represented and now are in a situation that seems to be similar to a bad relationship, one that is tired and boring.

I do not normally air my thoughts. However, this month has been about support, care, advice to artists and numerous coffees with them.

Located in Southbank, ACCA host an annual exhibition titled NEW. NEW012 opened on Friday 16 March and will run until 20 May 2012.

NEW is generously supported and presented by the Balnaves Foundation, and the exhibition has been selected by guest curator Jeff Khan. It features major new works from Khan’s choice of Australia’s most interesting rising artists:

• Katie Lee (VIC)
• Ross Manning (QLD)
• Angelica Mesiti (NSW)
• Bennett Miller (WA)
• Kate Mitchell (NSW)
• Charlie Sofo (VIC).

The artists selected may or may not be the art stars of tomorrow.

I love how ACCA’s space is transformed into various sections and the highlight for me was the video works. You may not like or understand the work, but NEW offers a platform for discussion and a look into the next crop of sought-after Australian artists.

It’s worth the effort, it’s free and it’s opened everyday except for Monday!

Australian Centre for Contemporary Art
111 Sturt Street Southbank VIC (view location on Google Maps)

Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 5pm
Weekends and public holidays, 11am to 6pm
Closed on Good Friday (6 April)

Until 20 May 2012

It was a pleasure to support a talented, ambitious emerging artist with so much energy and determination.

The show is on until 17 February.

YGAP
12–14 Grey Street, St Kilda (view location on Google Maps)
Wednesday to Sunday, 12pm to 7pm

And a friend sent me this today. I love it.

33 ways to stay creative

1. make lists
2. carry a notebook everywhere
3. try free writing
4. get away from the computer
5. be otherworldly
6. quit beating yourself up
7. take breaks
8. sign in the shower
9. drink coffee/tea
10. know your roots
11. listen to new music
12. be open
13. surround yourself with creative people
14. get feedback
15. collaborate
16. don’t give up
17. practice, practice, practice
18. allow yourself to make mistakes
19. go somewhere new
20. watch foreign films
21. count your blessings
22. get lots of rest
23. take risks
24. break the rules
25. do more of what makes you happy
26. don’t force it
27. read a page of the dictionary
28. create a framework
29. stop trying to be someone else’s perfect
30. got an idea? write it down
31. clean your workspace
32. have fun
33. finish something

As soon as I walked into Sutton Project Space, I felt that I was back in New York City.

You could feel the streets of NYC, the air, the energy, and the hustle and bustle.

At first, the large pinned black and white photographs by Catherine Bell look to be mums with their children crossing the busy streets. On closer inspection you realise that these women do not belong to these babies and children. They are the hired help; they are the African American nannies that often go unmentioned and unrecognised.

“Bell builds on her longstanding interest in motherhood, surrogacy and deviant maternity, and also presents new ideas relating to the per formative nature of public space.”

It’s the first time in a long time that I’ve walked into a show at Sutton Project Space and felt the exhibition was complete, resolved and conceptually clear. The photographs are not technically outstanding; they don’t need to be as Bell has produced a very tight and balanced show.

Sutton Project Space
230 Young Street, Fitzroy (view location on Google Maps)
Friday and Saturdays only, 1pm to 5pm
Until 17 December

I have come back to Melbourne in search of the wow factor and so far this is my list:

Murray White Room
Sargood Lane (off Exhibition Street, between Flinders Lane and Flinders Street), Melbourne

Transfer Stations by Mira Gojak

Exhibition runs until 19 November
Tuesday to Friday, 11am to 6pm, and Saturday, 12pm to 4pm

• Great to walk into Murray White Room and see 2 fabulous installations.
• The 2 works occupy the space perfectly and I love the use of various materials, lines, dimensions and colours.
• The works are technical, beautiful and should be in a fabulous foyer somewhere!

Lamington Drive
15–25 Keele Street, Collingwood (view location on Google Maps)

Page Girls by Kat Macleod

Exhibition runs until 19 November
Wednesday to Friday, 11am to 6pm, and Saturday, 12pm to 5pm

• The cardboard gallery continues with great works by artists/illustrators.
• The unique states by Kat Macleod are worth buying if there are any left.
• Otherwise you can buy a digital print or the book!

Mailbox 141
Entrance, 141–143 Flinders Lane, Melbourne (view location on Google Maps)

The Wonderful House by Owen Hammond

Exhibition runs until 2 December
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, and Saturday, 10am to 5pm

• Incredible houses occupy 14 mailboxes at Mailbox 141.
• Owen Hammond’s works are crafted to perfection and are fascinating.
• The exhibition asks us about where do we live, what type of house do we occupy, what goes into our house.

Before I left for Italy I had a few people informing me that this year’s Biennale was not very good, others saying that it was fabulous.

Well, I must say it was amazing. It was great on so many levels and not just for the art.

For 5 months every second year, Venice is transformed. For the art lover it is an abundance of opulent space and art in museums, disused buildings and of course the main arena’s the Giardini and Arsenale.

During our time there every afternoon was dedicated to art and prosecco at 5pm… perfect. The mornings were for the early walks before the crowds and cruise ships started rolling in.

I’ve been back under a week and, after seeing a lot of art, I am still thinking about a few of the outstanding pieces:

• The most outstanding artist was Anish Kapoor, who is based in London.
• The most outstanding pavilion was the French one hosting Christian Boltanski.

Ascension by Anish Kapoor is located in the magnificent Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiore.

“Ascension is a site-specific installation that materializes the paradox of the column of smoke: a vortex of white smoke rises from a circular base.”

The feeling was one of enlighten, spirituality and peace. At first it appears to be lifeless, but with further attention a “tornado” swirl of smoke slowly rises to the top and disappears into the suction of the exhaust fan.

The space, the religious aspect, the technical difficulties, the concept is all outstanding. This is an installation that captured the audience emotionally, conceptually and technically.

Unfortunately for me the Australian pavilion was disappointing. However, next-door was a perfectly sharpened exhibition by Christian Boltanski representing France.

Christian Boltanski, a leading figure in the international art scene, featured a spectacular installation entitled “Chance.”

“Chance” marks an important stage in the evolution of Christian Boltanski’s work. Unlike the rest of his art, which is dominated by disappearance and death, here he opens himself up to a broader examination of fate. The unfolding of life and the rhythm of births and deaths raise the question of the universal and the individual in a new form, of what distinguishes one being from another.

Far from being grim, the ambience here is welcoming. Even though the brutality of an industrial and mechanical system serves thwarts the building’s neoclassical harmony, here filtered light illumines the faces of newborns.

The sheer mechanical sound, install and the interaction aspect was outstanding and engaging. It was great to watch children get involved and excited.

Art is to speak to all and especially at the Biennale, where there are so many people from all walks of life. Both Kapoor’s and Boltanski’s works were successful because they achieved and produced work that was of an outstanding level.

As for me, I have spent the last few days writing the info pack that will be sent to all the participants heading to walk to art Venice 2011, between 10 and 16 October.

There’s so much to see, not only in the main areas, such as the Giardini and Arsenale, but also in the buildings scattered throughout Venice and the islands.

It is important to travel and view art on an international level. It’s exciting to view new spaces, art in different spaces and art that is contributing to our environment politically, socially and culturally.

Established in 1895, the Venice Biennale (La Biennale di Venezia) remains as the most important and prestigious event on the international contemporary visual arts calendar.

The Australian Pavilion is positioned within the Biennale Gardens (Giardini di Castello). The pavilion was designed by renowned Australian architect Philip Cox and opened in 1988. It was gifted to the Commonwealth Government and is currently managed by the Australia Council for the Arts.

Australia’s official representation for the Venice Biennale 2011 will feature artist Hany Armanious. This exhibition will be curated by Anne Ellegood, who is based in Los Angeles at the Hammer Museum.

In 2011 walk to art’s artist in residence is Daniel Anderson.

Anderson’s art is influenced by surrealism, cubism and futurism. Motion, energy, push and pull are constant repeated elements in his work.

After creating a new body of work whilst residing in Melbourne, he will be exhibiting at Work Space Gallery between 20 and 26 August (the opening will be on Saturday 20 August from 2pm to 4pm).

Murray Arts and South West Arts Inc. have also supported Anderson in a recent regional tour.

The idea of the residency program is to offer a life changing experience. It is not necessarily about the work or the exhibition; it is about growing, learning and being in a new environment.

The experience will offer new ideas and possibly allow the artists to move through any blockages that may be occurring. The breakthrough may not happen until after they return home. walk to art provides, facilitates and “joins the dots”.

Work Space Gallery
13 Glasshouse Road
Collingwood VIC

Wednesday to Friday, 11am to 4pm (or by appointment)
20 to 26 August 2011

Daine Singer has recently opened in the basement of 325 Flinders Lane in Melbourne (view location on Google Maps). It is always a risk to have a hidden space in Melbourne, as it takes a while for the wider community to find these amazing places. It is not easy for people to find some art spaces and galleries in Melbourne, but this is what makes this city so unique.

Daine Singer is known for acting as an independent curator, as well as working in commercial galleries. Her recent curatorial projects include:

• Experimenta Utopia Now: International Biennial of Media Art (curatorium, touring Australia 2010-2012)
• Dream Weavers (CAST Gallery, Hobart, Tasmania, 2010)
• Draw the Line: the Architecture of Lab (National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2009)
• The Nauru Elegies (DJ Spooky and Annie K Kwon, Experimenta at Blindside, Melbourne, and Shed 4, Melbourne, 2010)
• Big Screen Shorts (Federation Square, Melbourne, 2010).

Daine has held positions including:

• Gallery Manager at Anna Schwartz Gallery (Melbourne)
• Associate Curator at Experimenta Media Arts
• Curator at the Museum of Chinese Australian History (Melbourne).

She has a BA (art history and history), Grad Dip in Arts Management and Master of Art Curatorship from the University of Melbourne, and is a member of the advisory committee at Blindside ARI.

The first exhibition to be shown at Daine Singer gallery features the works of Kate James, The Other Side to Despair, until 30 July 2011.

Cipher (2011), by Kate James

“Melbourne-based artist Kate James employs repetitive and painstaking techniques, often adapted from uncommon, sometimes obsolete, craft practices. In this new body of work the measuring of time is counted out in tiny horsehair stitches.”

The Work of Worry is Never Done (2006), by Kate James

The work is delicate, erotic and incredibly beautiful. It is lovely to see such crafted work.

Welcome Daine Singer!

Daine Singer
Kate James, The Other Side to Despair
Basement, 325 Flinders Lane
Melbourne VIC 3000

Wednesday to Saturday, 12pm to 5pm (or by appointment)
Until 30 July 2011