Hosier Lane, Melbourne


Hosier Lane is a bluestone cobbled vehicular and pedestrian laneway on the southern edge of the central city grid. Hosier lane is a much celebrated landmark mainly due to its sophisticated Urban art.

History

Hosier Lane opened as a Street Art Gallery in 1998 by the City Lights Initiative. The lane is located opposite the entrance to the Atrium at Federation Square on Flinders St, placing the lane prominent position in the city.
The lane has been noted for the quality and the often political nature of its art. It features in the state-sponsored book The Melbourne Design Guide and in Tourism Victoria's Lose Yourself in Melbourne advertising campaign, leading to questions about the dichotomy of Victoria's approach to graffiti. The graffiti-covered walls and art-installations have become a popular backdrop for fashion and wedding photography.

Other Features

Hosier Lane is also known for its upmarket cocktail lounges including the popular Misty and MoVida. An open air cooking session with MoVida's chef Frank Camorra on Masterchef Australia season 2 showcased the lane as a major Melbourne attraction.

Controversy

In Early 2020 six masked people 'Colour Bombed' the lane. This was treated as an act of vandalism by the Melbourne Lord Mayor and was investigated by police for vandalism, while many street artists believed that they did nothing wrong and were just adding to the 'free for all nature' of the site.