Fish Lane Arts Precinct Walking Tours

Images show what the lane looked like before 2014.

Starting on Grey Street under the Fish Lane sign walking towards Hope Street.

Forgive the construction work as BCC builds its Metro Rail system but the heritage listed Design Bank building on left and Austin Residences built in 2014 on right.

“Foil” a large scale artwork by Dan Templeman is above the footpath on Grey Street to the right and…

“Lightboxes” is above to the left, part of a constantly changing BCC outdoor gallery.

Julius Pizzeria sits under the Austin building in a heritage building with internal arches preserved and festoon lighting that runs throughout the full laneway.

Julius is the sibling restaurant to Brisbane icon Becofino in Newstead.

“Grateful Fateful, Sunshine, Rain” by Kuuki is a large scale electronic artwork above Maker that has its own website and its lighting effect is linked to the predicted weather patterns of the next 24 hours.

To the left down low is the first of a series of “Tiny doors” in the laneway by artist Mace Robertson, this door being a copy of an Irish record store.

If you look up you will see a concrete ledge that will soon house a high resolution projector with animated electronic artworks to be spread across the rail line overhead.

To the left is a new brick building with Bar Brutus opening out on the ground level and a boutique office on the second floor.

If you step under the rail line you are in the middle of Town Square, a mixed use development designed by local architects Richards and Spence and opened in 2021.

Town Square is home to Southside and Kiki restaurants set amongst a lush subtropical landscape unlike any other in the city.

Wander around the colonnade to discover the revolving art works in the three vitrines

…and don’t forget to stop off in the middle of the rail line at the Melbourne Street end and explore “The Timeline”, a poignant ground plane artwork by Ellen van Neerven and BlakLash Creative that uses indigenous prose to tell the past story of this part of Brisbane.

If you step out onto Melbourne Street briefly you will find Nat Paton’s “Wow ‘Em Once More” artwork on the bright red rail pillars referencing the red show curtains of the Trocadero Dansant dance hall that once stood on this site.

The building the houses Southside has been repurposed and clad in brickwork from a 1980’s commercial office building and also houses a second projection ledge that will soon animate the rail bridge after dark.

‘Hello Please’ has been relocated from its original location (with its shipping container kitchen re-used) opposite Julius and is now housed in a building draped in a Fuzeillear mural called “Octopus”.

The Fox Hotel sits on the Hope Street corner and while the pub was badly effected by the recent flood the Ghostpatrol wall mural still greets laneway visitors.

On the opposite corner you will find 2 blue sculptures called “Steam Machine” by Brisbane local artists James and Eleanor Avery. This sculpture harks back to Fish Lane’s origins as the venue for George Fish’s Steam Laundry.

If you look up to the north you will see a tall building meandering skyward. This is Upper House designed by Koichi Takada and the podium of this building will soon house a 4-storey high Judy Watson perforated metal artwork.

Keep an eye on this construction as it will top out by the end of the year and is set to be capped by a double level curved timber crown.

As you cross Hope Street you will be drawn to an eclectic Fish Lane sign that is the creation of one of Brisbane and the world’s most lauded lighting designers Heath Williamson of Firefly Lighting. Heath sourced the letters from all over the world and the full story can be read on the Explore Fish Lane website. Heath’s company is also responsible for all the festoon lights throughout the laneway.

This is a good place to stop and appreciate “Head in The Clouds”, the lane’s largest mural painted by Fintan Magee back in 2017. Fintan was born in Highgate Hill but now travels the world painting murals with this incredibly being one of his smallest commissions.

On the left is a brick office building with artist Lix North’s artistic take on the lane’s eponymous patron, George Fish sitting up high. Steam punk details link Fish with the artist’s own self-portrait on the brick pillar to the west…”East of the mountains, west of the sea, south of the river is where I’ll be….”

A small pocket park is tucked under some lush trees and a great hiding place for 2 sculptures by Gillie and Marc known as “Dogman and Greener Rabbitwoman”…

as well as a place to stop and gaze up at a mural called “Marumba Kittibilla” by Warraba Weatherall and Daniel Jones.

The building to the right is the home of Legacy in Queensland and the rear wall provides the canvas for a Legacy-inspired wall mural created by Jodie Connolly and painted by Travis Vinson titled “A Lifelong Promise”.

Keep your eyes peeled near the ground for a medieval styled tiny door opposite Saccharomyces Beer Café.

Follow the blue river up the lane to where it meets Merivale Street. The artwork titled “Ground Plane” was created by artists Elizabeth Woods and Kevin Leung and is designed to be viewed up close but also from the tops of the buildings nearby.

The artwork is made by melting the Duratherm pattern into the asphalt roadway and adds a vibrant blue colour into the urban fabric. Be careful as you cross Merivale Street and if in doubt head down to Melbourne Street and cross at the lights.

As you get to the Melbourne Residences building on the left you will see the brightly coloured Nike Savvas ceiling artwork called “Echo” linking Fish Lane and Melbourne Street.

You will also see a series of small brass plaques in the street with some of Fish Lanes earliest occupants listed.

Further along on the left you will find Loretta Lizzio’s mural titled “Adrift” which was painted as part of the 2020 Brisbane Street Art Festival.

This part of the lane is home to some of the oldest artworks with “Steam Fish” by Chris Trotter, well known for a series of Expo 88 sculptures using recycled automotive parts and you will discover another more recent Trotter sculpture perched up high on a nearby building parapet.

“Efflorescence” by Kylie Bickle both delivered as part of apartment builds more than 6 years ago.

“Cormorant” sits atop a mural “called “The Finished Wall” live painted over a single weekend during the 2019 Brisbane Street Art festival by local artist Sofles.

This block of Fish Lane also features a series of four heritage cottages that were restored and uplit as part of the laneway redevelopment. One of these cottages is home to local food institution Punjabi Palace and another is home to the original tiny door from Mace Robertson sitting outside the original Fish Lane food location – Five Sisters café.

As you get to the end of Fish Lane and this walking tour stand back and take in the massive living green wall of The Standard with more than 10,000 plants and 60 different species.