THE inner west is famous for hip bars, top-notch coffee and multicultural cuisine, but it is the abundance of legendary street art that really gives the region its street cred.

While much of the inner west has become gentrified and is now thoroughly middle class, a reminder of its gritty roots and thriving creative culture is seen on countless streets.

The inner west’s reputation as a street art mecca began in the 1980s when graffiti, murals, slogans and stencil art began popping up across Newtown, Enmore, Erskineville, Camperdown and St Peters.

media_camera Eye-catching street art in Gladstone St, Enmore. Picture: John Appleyard

Perhaps the most famous example is Newtown’s I Have a Dream mural which was illegally painted in 1991 by Andrew Aiken and Juilee Pryor, who were part of a group of Newtown artists known as Unmitigated Audacity Productions.

While the famous piece celebrates Martin Luther King Jr and the campaign for Aboriginal civil rights, many people are unaware that Aiken was jailed for the bashing murder of a man in London one year before he arrived in Australia.

Glass sculptor Sergio Redegalli courted controversy in 2010 with his “Ban the Burqa” mural in Newtown, which has since been painted over, and the nearby “Free Speech *conditions apply” painting also has its share of critics.

media_camera The famous “I Have a Dream” mural in King St, Newtown. Picture: Wilson Craig

media_camera Newtown street art by Fintan Magee. Picture: Fintan Magee

World-renowned street artist Fintan Magee, who has several works in Newtown and Leichhardt and who works out of The Tate Gallery above Glebe’s Toxteth Hotel, said the inner west should be proud of its street art tradition.

“I have only been in Sydney for a year and a half … but growing up in Brisbane I always looked to Sydney for its graffiti,” he said.

“Sydney was a world mecca at that time and it was producing some good work. A lot of the walls I was looking at as a kid were done in the inner west.

media_camera Freddie Mercury in Enmore. Picture: Alexis Carey media_camera Street art in Gladstone St, Enmore. Picture: John Appleyard

“I think the inner west is the home of Sydney’s street art because of its more working-class roots, whereas the eastern suburbs were a bit wealthier and more conservative. It used to be cheaper at one stage so it was easier for artists and creative people to live there and there has also been support from some councils.

“Urban renewal is happening everywhere and gentrification is something artists are worried about big time … but murals add a lot to the community. Having strong visible culture is incredibly important because not everyone can go to a gallery every day. It is important to make art part of everyday life.”

media_camera The “Free Speech” painting in Newtown. Picture: Alexis Carey

media_camera Another Newtown example of Fintan Magee’s work. Picture: Fintan Magee

Inner west street art:

■ I Have a Dream mural: King St, Newtown

■ African Queen, Freddie Mercury: Enmore

■ Nelsdon Mandela: Cnr Illawarra and Marrickville Rds, Marrickville

■ Darth Maul near Lewisham station

■ Fintan Magee’s work: Kent and Church Sts, Newtown and Junior St, Leichhardt

■ May Lane, St Peters

■ Gladstone St, Enmore

■ Camperdown Memorial Rest Park

media_camera Leichhardt street art by Fintan Magee.