Street artist Kreamart sees potential for Launceston's alleys and walls

James Cowan, who creates murals under the name Kreamart, said Launceston was lagging behind other cities when it came to opportunities for local artists, but its built environment lends itself to street art.

"Our CBD would boom with some beautiful street art alleyways, five-metre high portraits, or animals with bright colours. I've been talking about this a lot with other local artists and we all agree, our alleyways aren't getting capitalised on," he said.

Mr Cowan's lifelike murals adorn the city's only street art wall, in Royal Park, and he creates commissioned works for businesses. He has also created murals in China and India.

Related: City of Launceston releases draft Cultural Strategy

He identified the alleyway next to Birchall's car park, alleyways between Brisbane and Cimitiere streets and the area behind ANZ as ideal places to allow street artists to demonstrate their skill.

"No offence to other artists, but the way these areas have been tagged, it looks untidy and it isn't great for our city. We've got some great alleyways that could absolutely sell it for tourism," Mr Cowan said.

"The bridges near the Gorge were painted grey. That could've been a massive selling point for people walking into the Gorge or Penny Royal.

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"Attitudes to street art have been changing. The public get used to seeing us do it, they appreciate we're local people trying to do something good for our city, and the tourists will look up where the street art is when they come here."

One of the walls could be a legal street art wall - allowing for any artist to contribute - while others could be for commissioned pieces showcasing Launceston and Tasmania's culture and history.

He had the support of Launceston businessman Rick Marton, who said making some of the walls legal for street art could attract high quality artists from the mainland or internationally.

"We've been looking at some locations that would be really impactful, that would show creativity in addition to our heritage streetscapes, but also to feel like we're a space and a city that's alive," Mr Marton said.

"There are a range of local business leaders that see the benefit that both large and small-scale community art projects can bring."

The City of Launceston council last week released its draft Cultural Strategy for public comment, which highlighted "opportunities to support a culturally vital city through public art".

It also included ambitions to "bring our history to the streets of our city" and further highlight Launceston's diverse history and communities. The public has four weeks to provide feedback.