Melbourne's colourful street art entices thousands of tourists into laneways every day, keen to experience the city's culture and snap the perfect photo.

But many of the people behind the art are concerned about the city's creative future.

Street artists work in a "grey area" — their work is spruiked as a tourist destination by the city council, but it's still illegal, even in iconic hotspots like Hosier Lane and AC/DC Lane.

"Hosier Lane is the number one free tourist attraction in Australia," artist and Blender Studios director Adrian Doyle says.

More than 1 million visitors visit the lane each year.

Many tourists follow the city's street art map to find colourful backdrops for photos. ( ABC RN: Sarah Scopelianos )

"That's huge. It's similar to the amount of people going to the Great Ocean Road," Doyle says.

"If that was any other thing they'd be building toilets and shops."

He says Melbourne City Council is caught in the middle on the issue — it wants the economic benefits the tourists, but also has to acknowledge the law.

"Some of it they like and some of it they don't. And that's clearly the different between street art and graffiti," Doyle says.

'Guerrilla painters' spark outrage and debate

Debate about the laneways — and the line between art and vandalism — intensified in February, after Hosier Lane was "paint bombed" using fire extinguishers.

Paint was sprayed over most of the murals and across the iconic cobbled bluestone road.

Street cleaners got to work on Hosier Lane soon after the paint bombing incident. ( ABC News: Iskhandar Razak )

Doyle describes it as "act of vandalism" which was "brutal but kind".

News headlines called the group "guerrilla painters", and some questioned whether the city's street art "freedom" was "luring more graffiti vandals".

Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp said although the laneway art was "forever changing", the group's actions were "not in keeping with the spirit of Hosier Lane".

Victoria Police is still investigating the incident, which it called an "attack on the street art".

Both the council and police take the view that street art in the laneways is "legal" provided the artist has "proper permission" before picking up their spray can.

Lukas Kasper says many people expect to see artists working in the laneways. ( ABC RN: Sarah Scopelianos )

Lukas Kasper, who had two pieces in the laneway before the paint bombing, doesn't have any problem with "paint going over paint".

"If there's going to be a space to do a huge project like this, shouldn't it be the socially acceptable, ever-changing painted walls of Hosier Lane?" he says.

But he says it exposes a problem for street artists who work in a legal "grey area".

"It's one of those things that's become just like a norm, but technically, there's actually no written laws that says this space is legal," Kasper says, while painting in the lane.

"High chances are if a police officer stopped in this laneway right now, nothing would happen.

"But in other paint-covered laneways I've had them take my paint, my details and moved me on."

Fear of police and penalties

Doyle, who runs an inner-city studio for street and fine art artists, says police use a "tag bank" to collate people's work, particularly graffiti artists.

"Once they've got one of the tags, they link it to all [your other] tags in the tag bank," he says.

A woman poses with work by Lukas Kasper, John Murray and James Wilson. ( ABC RN: Sarah Scopelianos )

While the "graffiti world" is different to street art, it's where many artists, including Doyle, begin their careers.

"I imagine if I had got caught then with the same penalties now, I wouldn't be running Blender ... because it would have destroyed my life," he says.

After the paint bombing, he made an impassioned plea for artists to take back "control of our creative city" and cited fears about the gentrification of laneway culture and over-zealous police.

What are the offences and penalties? Offences listed in the Victorian Graffiti Prevention Act 2007 include: Marking graffiti on private property without the owner's consent — up to two years' prison and a maximum fine of $38,057

Marking graffiti on private property without the owner's consent — up to two years' prison and a maximum fine of $38,057 Possessing, without lawful excuse, a spray paint can while on public transport property or infrastructure — a maximum fine of $3,964 or on-the-spot fine of $793

Possessing, without lawful excuse, a spray paint can while on public transport property or infrastructure — a maximum fine of $3,964 or on-the-spot fine of $793 Possessing a graffiti implement with the intention of marking graffiti — a maximum fine of $3,964 People could also face charges like criminal damage, property damage or trespass-related offences. Source: Victoria Police

"Someone called the police on my friend whom was painting in Flinders Court recently. And the police came, and my friend got in trouble for painting," he wrote.

"I know what we do is a grey area and it's a very divisive issue for local government. But it is crucial to the survival of the creative CBD and its urban culture.

"How would it look if I sent a well-respected international artist to paint in Flinders Court ... and they were arrested?

"It's a bad look for Melbourne and terrible for Blender."

It was met by silence.

"It's funny. As soon as someone does something like that, everyone seems to care, but nobody wants to do anything," Doyle says.

Adrian Doyle sometimes works with council, community groups and property owners to produce work. ( ABC RN: Sarah Scopelianos )

He says Melbourne City Council "doesn't know where to sit on it because it's illegal".

The council says it is considering Street Art Guidelines "to assist street artists and provide clarity for all parties".

Street art in the age of social media

For Doyle, Hosier Lane and what artists are painting there has changed.

"A lot of the artwork in there is just like marriage proposals or adverts for stuff," he says.

"We all have to make a living, I understand that, but that sort of stuff shouldn't be in Hosier Lane."

He fears the movement has lost its political punchiness.

Doyle would like to see creativity — and politics — return to Hosier Lane, and the street art scene more broadly.

He reminisces about the stencils and punchy political messages of the early 2000s and speculates that commercialisation is influencing what artists do.

"I think it's almost a picture competition [now] to see who can do the prettiest picture and for me, art needs to have a bit of a punch," he says.

"It's meant to make people feel a little bit awkward."

Street art researcher Lachlan MacDowall, from MIECAT Institute, says there is "still a lot of really direct political work" — like Peter Drew's Aussie poster campaign.

Peter Drew's Aussie posters drew attention to Australia's migrant past and added another voice to the immigration debate. ( Supplied: Peter Drew )

"Artists are getting more interested in monetising their work and producing the career out of their work," Dr MacDowall adds.

He says many are using laneway walls "as a backdrop for the production of digital content".

"Basically they're not even painting the wall primarily for the people who will walk in the laneways because there's a much larger audience who will access to the work on digital platforms," he says.

Doyle is hopeful of a reinvention — he's seen it happen before.

He knows the next generation of artists will find a way to keep it fresh.

"Everything in the whole world has gone through a meeting ... street art's not like that," he says.

"It's just some dude that just puts it up. There's no meetings and so in a way it's freeing. It's really democratic."

Street artists want a future of creative laneways, rather than spaces filled with tags and ads. ( ABC RN: Sarah Scopelianos )

