The latest instalment of council’s Art in Unexpected Places features designs from artist Bella Taylor. Photo: Shellharbour City Council.
Shellharbour bus commuters are set to enjoy graffiti-inspired bursts of colour on their daily travels, with artist Bella Taylor transforming shelters into works of art as part of the city’s Art in Unexpected Places program.
A design student at the University of Wollongong, Bella has already made her mark with murals for James Fallon High School in North Albury, and her art featured throughout Albury and Wollongong.
Now, she’s the highlight artist for Shellharbour City Council’s Art in Unexpected Places, which supports emerging artists while making public spaces more vibrant and welcoming.
Inspired by street art, pop culture and the local environment, Bella’s graffiti-style work uses bright colours and playful movement to transform everyday infrastructure such as bus shelters into joyful and engaging canvases.
“I love the idea of brightening someone’s day with something unexpected,” Bella said.
“Not all art needs to be serious.
“It can simply be something that makes you smile while you’re waiting for the bus.”
Her artworks can be seen at four bus shelter locations – 211 Princes Highway, Rotary Park, Albion Park Rail; Shellharbour Primary School, Mary St, Shellharbour; Lake Entrance Road (Wattle Road intersection); and 128 Shellharbour Road, Warilla.
Shellharbour City Mayor Chris Homer said the project connected people with art in their everyday surroundings.
“Bella’s work is energetic, expressive and truly reflects the creativity thriving in our community,” Cr Homer said.
“We’re proud to help bring that to the streets and make art accessible to everyone.”
Previous Art in Unexpected Places participants have included Coalcliff documentary photographer Tim Baker, who takes a humanist approach to photographing strangers candidly, choosing to portray them as true to life as he sees it, and Albion Park artist Ian Morrison, who studied and worked as an architect before further studies in theology led to his 11-year role as an ordained Anglican minister. His place of residence in Dapto, the Blue Mountains and now Albion Park have offered inspiration for developing his landscape scenes.
Prior to Ian, Shellharbour artist Melissa Ritchie shared her oil paintings, being known for her realistic still life paintings featuring a colourful array of everyday objects.
Melissa has been a finalist in many of Australia’s major art prizes, including the Archibald Prize, Doug Moran Prize and Portia Geach Memorial Award.
While council’s Art In Unexpected Places program has been going since 2019, artworks first graced bus shelters in December 2021.
On Instagram, Bella has shared other examples of her work, which include augmented reality posters for a university project that mixes photography, motion, illustration and typography, and a four-metre mural in Wollongong.
She also takes followers on a video tour of the Shellharbour bus shelters displaying her art.
You can see more of Bella’s work on her website.
Learn more about upcoming artist opportunities and explore previous works featured in the program, on the arts and culture section of council’s website. Other programs include Incubator Artist Residency.
