Is the Hosier Lane attack vandalism or street art?

Melbourne’s iconic street art venue, Hosier Lane, has been targeted with a spray-paint attack. Was it a retaliation for the lane’s commercialism or vandalism?

Over the weekend, Melbourne’s iconic street art venue, Hosier Lane, was targeted by a gang armed with spray-paint.

Purportedly, six people wearing balaclavas used spray guns to ‘paint over’ aerosol and stencil artworks.  

A video of the event was posted to Instagram on Sunday (9 February), which went viral.

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's Senior Contributor, after 12 years in the role as National Visual Arts Editor. She has worked for extended periods in America and Southeast Asia, as gallerist, arts administrator and regional contributing editor for a number of magazines, including Hong Kong based Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. She is an Art Tour leader for the AGNSW Members, and lectures regularly on the state of the arts. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Instagram: fairleygina