The paint is a hard-to-find brand, ordered because it doesn't drip as much as others and comes in an astonishing number of colours. Collins' favourite is Shock Pink.

Collins, 30, of Mt St Thomas, is the first "urban" artist offered residency at Wollongong City Gallery, after 20 years of the program.

She credits established urban artists such as Banksy - the renowned British street artist - with helping to elevate urban art to gallery status.

"Artists like Banksy and Shepard Fairey have really taken it to the mainstream," she said.

"If that's what the public likes, the galleries have to start accepting it, otherwise people are going to see it on the street and no-one will come in to the gallery."

Wollongong gallery's coveted second-floor resident's studio has an 85sqm concrete floor, showing paint spatters from the 22 artists who held earlier residencies. It is several steps up from Collins' usual shared 10sqm studio.

A former Illawarra Mercury graphic designer, Collins plans to devote herself to art full-time for the residency's duration.

"I'm going to be able to focus," she said. "I'll be treating this as a full-time job for the next 12 months, to really test the water and see what it would be like if I was to give everything I could, just to be a full-time artist."

As part of the residency, Collins, a finalist in the past three Australian Stencil Art Prizes, plans to host stencilling workshops.

Her technique is to begin with an illustration, which is then cut into a stencil. Different coloured paints are pushed through the stencil, one layer at a time.

She will produce 13 related works in total, and 55 prints of each, for an exhibition which will tour nationally and overseas.

Each residency awarded provides the artist with a studio, $3000 for supplies and the expertise of the gallery staff.

Wollongong gallery program director John Monteleone said the residencies were aimed at providing opportunities to emerging artists, not growing the gallery's audience.

"But [Collins'] work may appeal to a younger demographic ... it will be interesting to see where it goes."

Collins will use social media - process videos on Youtube, blog updates and tweet details and open invitations to the studio, to engage people with her work.

Mr Monteleone said work of Banksy and others had led to urban art being "looked at in a different way" and being recognised by the art world and shown in galleries.

"Let's not forget artists have always been social commentators," he said.