This is more of an adult walk but if you find yourself needing to entertain the kids in one of Perth's older suburbs challenge them to a game of spotto and see if they can notice the small detail in the public art works they come across.
Leederville has a large amount of murals all easily accessible by walking along Oxford Street between William Traylen Park and Richmond Street for the majority of art with a few scattered further along Oxford Street towards Mt Hawthorn where you can also find many murals as explored on our Mt Hawthorn Urban Art Trail.
You can start anywhere in Leederville and can tie the walk in with a coffee, icecream or meal at the many cafes, food outlets and restaurants along this strip. This trail is easily accessible by public transport as you can get off at Leederville Train Station and you are right amongst it all.
If driving there are numerous carparks but most are paid parking with time limits. We parked at the Loftus Recreation Centre which offers a stipulated time of free parking which on a Saturday was 5 hours - more than enough! There are also toilet facilities here.
Starting along Richmond Street we headed west to Oxford Street finding our first mural We are all connected by Stormie Mills on the TAFE buildings at the corner of Oxford Street. At the yellow sculpture detour down Melrose Street into the campus to see Explosion by Fergus McFudge.
Head back along Oxford Street crossing the road to view the intricate Hosae mural Urban Landscape and Robert Jenkins artwork on the doors to the outdoor cinema at LUNA cinemas and the architecture of the New Oxford building.
Head west along Vincent Street for the large mural by Fintan McGee on the side of LUNA cinemas. The Tower of Snow mural depicts three figures moving between the columns of the LUNA Cinema building while they carry heavy loads on their backs.
Across the road follow the access next to IGA into the carpark to see the skull by Stormie Mills, Release by Amanda Lynn, murals by Bruno Booth and the Melski murals on the public toilet block.
Back on Oxford Street cross over into Electric Lane and explore the various artworks including work by Graphite Crew and Yok. Head into the Leederville Hotel beer garden and grounds for more artworks.
Peek inside Lima Cantina before heading along Newcastle Street to see Downlounge by Phil and Dawn Gamblen. Continue along Newcastle Street to see Tim McFarlane's sculpture and even further for the four decorative fence panels.
Head back to the laneway opposite Downlounge where you will find more murals including Premiers 2018, Hola Amigos, Aliens by Martin E Mews, Goat Dreaming by Robert Jenkins and Pink by Sarah McCloskey (sadly degraded comparing 2024 and 2020 photos).
Cross over to walk along the access behind Funky Bunches to see the graffiti wall which has a couple of interesting artworks including The Pursuit of Inspiration by Andrew Frazer and Markers by Stormie Mills and the Ikonoklast Crew. Across the vacant block you can see the fish on Kailis Bros and if you wander around to the side near the train station walkway you will find another, Barracuda, both by Amok Island.
Head back across Oxford Street and through Oxford Street Reserve. There is a fully fenced, wheelchair accessible playground here. We missed the electrical box with Hosae artwork on it.
Wander around the skate park and YMCA Headquarters which are both covered in colourful graffiti but also have some notable artworks. These artworks are in a constant state of flux as the walls get painted over and new murals are painted by youth as part of the Freedom Centre. There were two new murals being painted on the day we walked past.
The Water Corporation has the highly visible DALeast mural Spout which will be familiar to many but tucked around the back as you follow Frame Court is a Janes Giddy mural Ibis and another mural by Andrew Hem.
From here you could head back along Loftus Street, through Venables Park with it's heritage cottage and then through Keith Frame Reserve with it's 'Big Blue Head' sculpture Beseech by Ken Seely. Make sure to check out the man escaping the library in Judith Forrest's Borrowing Ideas back at Loftus Recreation Centre.
We retraced our steps along Oxford Street and then ventured a little further beyond Richmond Street to Bourke Street passing Cafe LA with it's car, Pappagallo and the Re Store with it's heritage wagon and mural and Kitsch Bar.
Including this detour this very pleasant ambling walk took us about 70 minutes.
We also wandered across to Charles Veryard Reserve with it's muralled clubroom, cricket pitches and traditional playground shaded by ancient fig trees and the Macedonian Orthodox Church of St Nikola in the background.
Then we crossed Bourke Street into pretty Smith's Lake Reserve.
We came out at Beatty Park Leisure Centre and found some artworks including a Jessee Lee Johns Mural which depicts the Bike Repair Stations in the neighbourhood. If you are really keen cross Vincent Street to Florence Street and then turn into Hammond Street to find The Avocado House.
We followed the City of Vincent Public Art map which is interactive and provides details of the artworks. Toggling between two different maps and websites I found many artworks have conflicting information regarding name and artist so please don't take what I have written as correct.
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For urban art blogs head to Art and About in Perth for links to different locations:
In the spirit of reconciliation Out and About- Family Nature Connection acknowledges the traditional owners of the Wadjak boodjar (Perth land) and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.