About Me
My name is Alix Beattie and I am a Doctoral Candidate (Doctor of Creative Arts) at Western Sydney University. I have eight years art industry experience working for a contemporary commercial gallery and my previous studies include a Master of Research, with a focus on female street artists and an undergraduate in Art History and Film Studies.
My research area is street art, I am fascinated by the impact that street art can have on a community and how it breaks away from the walls of a contemporary gallery.
I see art as a disruption of thoughts, it takes us away from our everyday lives and challenges our mind to think in a different way.
Particularly for me, I believe street art encompasses these disruption of thoughts more than art that is viewed in a gallery space. The reason for this, in a gallery space there is information available on a particular artist or exhibition. Information through a catalogue, the plaques that sit next to the artwork and insights from people who work in the space or know the artists. When viewing artworks on the street, there is no information, no guidelines on how to interpret the work, they are all thoughts that are constructed by the viewer.
Through my research into this area, I want people to re-think their views when they identify street art. Take a step back and think about how this medium can not only change the urban space but also the relaying of messages and thoughts by the artists.
ORCHID Number: 0000-0002-1269-6434
Alix Beattie: Street Art Researcher 