THE vibrant street art and murals around the inner west can turn any ordinary walk around the block into an exercise in art appreciation. With many wonderful and ever-changing spots to check out, here are our top picks for five of them.
1. Mural mecca

It's not too controversial to say Newtown's King Street is not just one of the best spots in Sydney to check out street art, but in Australia. The street is home to the I Have a Dream mural painted in 1991 by Andrew Aiken and Juilee Pryor.
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Hard to imagine now that the iconic mural at 295 King Street, which evokes themes of environmental activism, civil rights and gender equality, almost never came to be as Aiken and Pryor were denied permission to paint it twice. They went ahead anyway and, three decades later, it's still creating conversation.
Turn off King Street into any of the laneways leading onto it and you're bound to find something beautiful.
King Street, Newtown
2. Industrial aesthetics

From King Street, take a 15 minute stroll down to St Peters and you've found another top spot for street art in the inner west. Just west of Sydney Park, you'll find the colourful warehouse walls of May Lane and Caroline Lane.
The laneways are part of an outdoor art gallery launched by Tugi and Dianna Balog in 2005, offering up the walls of their framing warehouse to eager graffiti artists.
The May Lane Art Project showcases work by local and international graffiti artists - in every style from stencil to spray.
May Lane and Caroline Lane, St Peters
3. Celebrity spotting

No need to fly to LA: if you want to spot some of your favourite Hollywood stars, pay a visit to Faversham Lane in Marrickville. Since 2015, Stuart Sale, a mixed-media artist hailing from London, has been painting black and white portraits of pop-culture icons like Jules and Vincent from Pulp Fiction, Yoda from Star Wars and the Joker from Batman as well as memorial portraits of beloved celebrities like Shane Warne, David Bowie, Amy Winehouse and John Lennon.
The star-studded laneway is just around the corner from the Marrickville Bowling Club and 10 minutes' walk from Sydenham Station.
Faversham Lane, Marrickville
4. 'The People's Mural'

Now's not the best time to check out The People's Mural on the Crescent in Annandale, with much of it obscured behind temporary WestConnex fences. But it's such an iconic piece of history it deserves a mention - and WestConnex is under strict instruction not to destroy it, although it will ultimately be partially obscured by a new pedestrian bridge.
The mural - which the Inner West Council voted to nominate for heritage listing in 2018 (it's still being assessed) - is painted along the light rail retaining wall near where The Crescent meets the City West Link. It was created in 1980 by artist Rodney Monk, who says it was designed to "reflect social attitudes and values" of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
"The mural was created in a time when Sydney's inner west was changing in its social makeup; from workers' cottages, student accommodation and factories towards what it is today," he said.
The Crescent, Annandale
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5. A spot to watch

Ashfield isn't exactly famous for street art, but Liverpool Road has both hidden gem works and large placemaking murals commissioned by council. Getting off the train at Ashfield station will give you a sample of what the suburb has to offer, with NumSkull's Never Too Late looming over the platform.
Pick up a kebab at Sim Kebab House and feast your eyes on the vibrant colours of Seminatural by street artist Beastman. Another piece to look out for is the large portrait of an Ashfield resident on the second floor of 283 Liverpool Road. Artist Guido van Helten painted the work, which he says celebrates the suburb's multicultural community, over 10 days during a heatwave in 2017.
Liverpool Road, Ashfield
Allison Hore
Allison Hore is a journalist with the Inner West Review,
Allison Hore is a journalist with the Inner West Review,