BSAF 2023.

Held from 6 to 21 May 2023, the eighth edition of the Brisbane Street Art Festival saw the city's walls, laneways and public spaces transformed once again into a sprawling open-air gallery. After several years in which the program leaned on local and interstate talent through the pandemic, 2023 marked a celebratory return of international artists to the line-up, welcoming practitioners from around the world and across the country to join significant local names in revitalising some of Brisbane's most iconic locations. Anchoring it all was Superordinary Northshore, the immersive riverside arts precinct at Northshore Hamilton that served as the festival's central hub, hosting large-scale works, exhibitions and the bulk of its events and workshops program.

The mural program gathered more than forty artists and collectives, spreading new public art across a string of recognisable Brisbane precincts including South Bank, the Queen Street Mall, the RNA Showgrounds and Howard Smith Wharves. The roster paired internationally regarded muralists with a deep bench of Australian talent, among them Fintan Magee, Gus Eagleton, Tori-Jay Mordey, Illma Gore, Mulga and Jeswri, working in a deliberately broad range of styles and techniques. That diversity of approach, from photorealism to bold graphic abstraction, was central to the year's character, underscoring the breadth of practice that has helped position Brisbane among the world's most significant street art cities over the festival's first seven years.

Beyond the murals, 2023 offered a full calendar of public programming designed to bring audiences closer to the artists. An all-ages workshop schedule gave participants hands-on, up-close access to the people making the work, while artist panel talks and large-scale exhibitions filled out the Northshore hub. The annual festival party returned to Felons Brewing Co. at Howard Smith Wharves, and the edition unfolded alongside the concurrent Brisbane Art Design festival, amplifying the city's wider creative season. Among the live works painted in the heart of the city was Tommy's "Queen Nala," a vibrant, feline-inspired mural created on the Queen Street Mall, a reminder that the festival's reach extended to artists supported through community arts pathways. Free to view and woven through the everyday fabric of the city, BSAF 2023 reaffirmed the festival's founding ambition: to make world-class public art a permanent, accessible part of Brisbane life.