Sydney’s aMBUSH Gallery has been awarded for its successful street art initiative, Project 5.

The gallery won the Australia Council Young and Emerging Artists Award at the annual Australia Business Arts Foundation Awards. The winning project was developed by aMBUSH on behalf of Cockle Bay Wharf and partnered emerging street artists with established artists such as Anthony Lister and Kid Zoom. The emerging artists had to create their works live in front of a Sydney crowd, with each work later auctioned off, raising around $39,800. The funds were donated to partner – charitable arts and media organisation Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE), who run creative arts programs for disadvantaged youth in Western Sydney.

“Project 5 has been a huge success, for the artists, the business – Cockle Bay Wharf, and the charity ICE. The Project has also given us a chance to take street art out of Sydney’s back alleys and into the mainstream. People visiting Cockle Bay Wharf really engaged with what was going on – and we had loads of questions from tourists and Sydneysiders who could clearly see vibrant and creative art taking place right in front of their eyes,” says aMBUSH Gallery’s Bill Dimas about the award.

Thumbnail image and below images: taken from Project 5 website of the February 2011 live painting.