Taupo Street Art

Graffiato: Taupo Street Art Festival returns over Labour weekend and 10 more walls will be turned into works of art. It’s the 8th year of the festival in 2018 and the current street art trail map (downloadable via the link above) helps you find 30 of the art works that have been created over the years.

New Zealand has some captivating street art and sometimes I think I’ve found a favourite art work or artist and then around the next corner – ‘wow, another favourite’. In Taupo it was more ‘bow wow’ as it was the realism of the dogs … Read the rest

Herd of Morrinsville?

If not, Morrinsville is a small town in the Waikato that’s big on cows – farming them and turning them into street art to help tell the story of the town’s history and heritage.

The Herd of Cows? website has a street art trail map so you can find the 48 members of the colourful herd and read about the artists that painted them. Some of the art work on the cows is wonderfully whimsical, and one of the cows is a whopper – Mabel the 6.5 metre tall mega cow stands outside Maber Motors at 86 Thames Street.

You’ll … Read the rest

Has Banksy been in Rotorua?

Probably not. However I spent some time Googling phrases like ‘How do you know if it’s a genuine Banksy?’ before I came to that conclusion. It was fascinating reading, if you find the real deal on a wall here’s some of what you’re likely to need – 24 hour security, a diamond chainsaw, a team of art curators and builders, and a lot of money to pay for it all.

How do you know if you’ve found a genuine Banksy? A couple of tips – Banksy’s work is painted in busy areas where it will be seen, so not in … Read the rest

Christchurch Street Art

There are 41 photos of Christchurch street art below, the first 9 photos were taken in the seaside suburb of New Brighton, the rest of the photos were taken in the central city. A good website to visit if you’re looking for Christchurch street art is Watch This Space, there are over 100 pieces of street art featured along with a map to help you find them.

The street art festival Street Prints Otautahi (20 December – 31 December) will see new murals painted in New Brighton, Lyttelton and the central city. … Read the rest

Napier Street Art – Sea Walls: Murals for Oceans

PangeaSeed Foundation is an international organisation that takes oceans into the streets to raise awareness of marine environment issues like pollution, plastic use and over fishing. They use what they call ARTivism – a combination of art and activism to educate and inspire people around the world to think more about their environmental impact, and it is done in a creative and thought provoking way …….

Frank And Mimi

House of Meggs

The first Sea Walls project brought 25 artists to Napier in March 2016. Their mission – to give the oceans a voice, one art work at a time. … Read the rest

Dunedin Street Art

The last time we were in Dunedin I photographed and wrote about the art work on bus shelters on Otago Peninsula. Two years on, there are more than 25 walls of art in Dunedin city. Much of the art work was facilitated by Dunedin Street Art  volunteers who have helped bring art and artists into the streets.

You can find the street art at random or download a Street Art Trail map, or pick up a copy from the i-SITE on The Octagon. A two hour Street Art Tour may also be an option (ask at the i-SITE). We … Read the rest

More Auckland Street Art

Following on from the Auckland Street Art post, I walked around the K’ Road area with a 2015 All Fresco Public Art Festival* map in hand. I couldn’t find all 10 new works and I think a couple may have been painted over, or I was looking in the wrong place. Here’s five I did find:

The striking portrait by Owen Dippie is on the side of an apartment building on Canada Street (at the top of Upper Queen Street). You can see ‘Hine’ from the motorway, beats looking at the traffic that’s for sure. (Number 6 on the map).… Read the rest

OD leaves his mark in Mount Maunganui

Artist Owen Dippie (OD)* is packing up his spray cans and relocating to Auckland. He has left his mark on many walls in the Bay of Plenty, but especially down Ashworth Lane in Mount Maunganui, the location of his soon to close studio, shop and gallery.

The painting of The Notorious B.I.G. glowers down and I swear I can almost hear him asking ‘What you want?’. Although given I initially thought he was just some staunch guy, and not a famous rapper shot down in his prime, he may have said something else entirely, or rapped even.

Someone who … Read the rest

Street Art – Dunedin Bus Shelters

Artist John Noakes (1938-2006) painted murals on 65 bus shelters in Dunedin. The photos below were taken as we drove around Otago Peninsula. The bus shelters got me thinking about how creativity can be applied to necessary and functional structures in our environment. Why do bus shelters need to be so uniform when they can be a canvas for flying pigs?

Mr Noakes had the idea to paint bus shelters when he was on a bus travelling to work, it was raining, and he saw children huddling in the Company Bay shelter. The children looked miserable and he thought their … Read the rest

Street Art in Central Auckland

Also see More Auckland Street Art (2016)

Years ago I was leaving Sydney by train, there was so much tagging and graffiti on walls and wagons with so many angles, layers and colours it turned into one long amazing art work to me. From that experience I was primed to appreciate art on the street, the kind that brightens up backs of buildings and dull concrete walls.

Street artists like Owen Dippie (OD) are being commissioned for projects like ‘Larger Than Life’ – a series of murals on Tauranga’s walls. Supporters of the project hope it will attract tourists, it’s … Read the rest