Today we’d like to introduce you to Elle Streetart.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
ELLE means “she” in French, and so I decided it was the perfect alias as I wanted to represent all women on the streets. My art career began and ended quickly- I attended a graduate program for painting and quit within a year.
I then moved to New York and found Streetart. I was immensely taken by the way that street art took on a life of its own. Suddenly work that had been trapped in the studio and never seen was living its own life on the street and engaging with pedestrians. It is then that I became intrigued by the less ephemeral graffiti that sat on the walls alongside the artwork.
I decided that graffiti was far too dominated by males and that I needed to represent the ladies! I got very heavily invested in graffiti. Within a year I was sponsored by a spray paint company- so I started approaching building owners and asking if I could paint their walls for free. After painting a few walls, I started getting invited to travel and paint walls for festivals, private commissions, and museums. Now I travel and paint walls for a living!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When I first was doing street art and graffiti, I was working side jobs to pay for my art. I also ended up in jail a couple of times for painting… I never really knew what the end result would be- I didn’t know that I was I was doing could end up as a job, I was really just doing it because I loved it and I was obsessed with it. I feel very lucky to have ended up where I am now- traveling the world painting and having shows- it’s such a dream.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I spraypaints walls, mostly facades of buildings. I consider my paintings to be poetry- through collaging disparate images: powerful females, flora and fauna, classical paintings juxtaposed with contemporary pop-culture and high fashion imagery, I tell stories, revealing a purposefully designed message to the world. My passion for the environment and feminism come through in the transparency of messages throughout my pieces.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Melbourne is incredibly supportive of Streetart. The laneway culture has become a cultural tourist destination like that of Museums in other cities, and it’s really fantastic!
The Everfresh collective and other group studios here exist and thrive unlike anywhere else I’ve visited or lived- there’a fantastic community and appreciation for the public art that is created here.
Contact Info:
- Website: ellestreetart.com
- Email: ellestreetart@gmail.com
- Instagram: ellestreetart
- Facebook: ELLE Street Art
Image Credit:
Shannyn Higgins. Nika Kramer
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
