fitzroyalty

On Wednesday 22 October 2008 I went to the ‘Nesting and Dying’ exhibition and book launch of Melbourne artists Miso (more on her background) and Ghostpatrol at the Metro 5 gallery in Armadale. The exhibition is on until 9 November. You’d more regularly see their work in galleries and on the streets in Melbourne and Fitzroy, and it was curious to see some familiar Fitzroy faces (on the walls and in the crowd) at an unfamiliar location.

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With its many cultures, there are many breakfast options available in Singapore. I made it my duty to try several. You can choose from traditional savoury Chinese dishes, western food or curious fusions in between, such as bread and toast with Asian flavours.

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Update 5 February 2009: the story did not run in the 28 January 2009 issue of the Leader. I’ll update this again when it is published.

Update 27 January 2009: I gave an interview to a Leader journalist yesterday about this story, and the article should appear in this week’s Melbourne Leader. According to the journalist the Police have visited the bar to investigate the original complaint.

Update 17 December 2008: I wrote to Consumer Affairs Victoria on 18 November 2008 about the licensing issue with Mirrors. I got no response so I resent the message on 23 November, and received a response on 24 November that the issue was being referred to the Police for investigation. Today I received an acknowledgement from the Police that they have the file.

Update 4 December 2008: I have received further information from the council. Mirrors was issued with a penalty notice for failing to comply with the Yarra Planning Scheme for buildings and works. Their fence did not requiring a building permit owing to its height, but did require a planning permit. The owner of Mirrors has been made aware by the council that planning approval is required before the rear area can be used to serve food and drink. The council believes that the application would be for lunchtime and early evening trade. The council also says that the rear yard is accessible to patrons until early evening for smoking only and is ensuring that no food or drink is carried into the area.

Update 11 November 2008: The Yarra council has confirmed that it has issued a fine to the owner(s) of the Mirrors bar for their illegal building building work. Since the photo below was taken the ground has been concreted over, but the council considers this to be landscaping, which does not require a permit.

Update 6 November 2008: a check with Consumer Affairs Victoria’s liquor licensing section confirms that Mirrors does not have permission to serve alcohol or have people consume alcohol at the back of the premises, and they have not applied for such a licence. They would need to  post an application and give all residents 28 days notice to appeal such a move, and nothing has been done.

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An excellent Herald Sun article published on 29 October 2008 discusses the growing community consensus in Fitzroy about encouraging legal street art as a tactic to discourage illegal tagging and other forms of vandalism. The Yarra Council and local business and property owners are cooperating to make it easier to approve art works on large street facing walls. The work of Fitzroy artists like Phibs and Deb is widely respected by lesser aspiring artists and even by taggers, who regularly deface blank walls but rarely deface significant works of art.

Street art is a defining characteristic of Fitzroy culture and many people love it. The group Residents Against Graffiti Everywhere (RAGE) refuses to recognise a difference between tags (widely considered worthless vandalism) and more complex street art. They have an antiquated kitsch aesthetic that revolts against the pop modernity of street art, and that is why they see all graffiti (a term that encompasses both complex symbolic visual art and tags) as vandalism.

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