Workshop: Stencil and Augmented Reality with HA-HA - Sunday 19 April

Led by acclaimed street artist and digital innovator HA-HA, this immersive four-hour workshop invites participants to explore the dynamic intersection of stencil art and Augmented Reality. With more than 20 years’ experience in large-scale mural painting, community arts facilitation, and the integration of digital platforms into traditional practice, HA-HA brings both technical mastery and creative vision to Benalla. As the creator of the HA-HA App, he has pioneered new ways for audiences to experience art beyond the physical surface.

Participants will be guided step-by-step through the core principles of stencil design and safe spray-paint techniques, learning how to cut, layer, and register multi-colour artworks with precision. Working from their own concepts or supplied templates, they will experiment with fades, shadows, textures, and colour blending using professional materials and equipment. Throughout the session, HA-HA provides hands-on support, ensuring beginners and emerging artists alike build confidence while developing practical, transferable skills.

The workshop culminates in a powerful digital reveal. Each completed artwork is photographed and transformed into an interactive Augmented Reality experience within the HA-HA App, forming a dedicated festival collection. In a final showcase, participants view their creations come to life on screen—bridging spray can and smartphone—and leave with both a finished physical artwork and a lasting digital legacy they can share with friends, family, and the wider community.

About the artist

HA-HA is a contemporary Australian artist whose work critically examines the forces shaping modern life, including the pervasive influence of mass media, the rise of artificial intelligence, the commodification of culture, and the shifting nature of labour in a digital age.

Emerging from a background in street art, HA-HA is a self-taught artist whose practice is grounded in close observation of popular culture. He sources imagery from the digital landscape and through original photography, translating these references into meticulously hand-cut stencil works. This analogue approach is frequently expanded through the integration of augmented reality, creating a layered dialogue between traditional craft and emerging technologies.

With a career spanning more than two decades, HA-HA has exhibited extensively in Australia and internationally, presenting over twenty solo exhibitions. He is represented by galleries across Australia.

His work is held in major public and private collections, including the National Gallery of Australia, the State Library of Victoria, the City of Melbourne, Artbank, and BHP Billiton, as well as private collections throughout Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and South East Asia.

Registration and payment essential: To secure your place in either session, register online below, visit the gallery, call on 03 5760 2619 or email gallery@benalla.vic.gov.au

Where: Benalla Street Art Festival Live Site, adjacent to Benalla Visitor Information Centre, 14 Mair Street

Ages: 16+

Cost: $45 Members / $55 non-Members

Materials: All materials supplied. Bring ideas or reference images to produce your unique stencil, and a smart device to access the HA-HA App.

Presented in conjunction with HA-HA: Street Art Bushranger, an Official Exhibition of the 2026 Benalla Street Art Festival