Ka¯inga Ora puts lid on state house spray murals
An artist’s efforts to beautify the New Plymouth state house complex where she lives has been shut down by the Government housing agency.
Joanne Bennett never sought permission to paint two-metre by three-metre brightly-coloured murals on the brick walls at the front of the Lemon St homes, but is now petitioning Ka¯inga Ora after it ordered her to stop.
While some of Bennett’s neighbours have given her their support, the agency said it took a ‘‘low-key approach’’ to its housing and did not wish to attract unnecessary attention.
‘‘We do not support having murals painted on our homes,’’ it said an email to her.
Ka¯inga Ora would not comment on the murals, but said it was sending someone to look at them today.
Bennett, 49, said the agency’s position was ‘‘ignorant’’ and she was making the place better and brighter. ‘‘How can they have an issue with that?’’
She painted the first ‘‘urban Ma¯ori’’ piece at the front of her state house about a year ago.
Neighbours, also Ka¯inga Ora tenants, who were impressed by the spray-painted work asked her to add colour to their walls.
Bennett has since completed three murals and was halfway through a fourth when, about a month ago, the Government agency told her to stop.
Bennett made an official request to continue, explaining there were more neighbours who wanted similar murals, but Ka¯inga Ora refused.
‘‘Something like a mural tends to attract attention, which may not be something that everyone in this complex shares. If one house in the complex is painted with a mural, then all the houses in that complex [are] marked,’’ it said in the email.
Bennett, a caregiver who relocated from Porirua to New Plymouth three years ago, was disappointed. She never asked permission to paint the walls because she viewed the murals as an ‘‘improvement’’ and not offensive.
Bennett, who has not charged money for the paintings, wished to continue but did not want to defy Ka¯inga Ora. She has launched a petition to prove she has the community’s support.
Neighbour Lorraine Horgan, one of the Ka¯inga Ora tenants whose wall was painted, thought the agency’s stance was unfair.
‘‘They’re really cool. They brighten up the place,’’ she said.
‘‘Lots of people drive past and toot, and walk past and comment on them.’’
Lemon St residents Mervyn and Jill Chivers, who do not live in state housing, previously sent a postcard of admiration to Bennett, describing the art as uplifting and inspiring.
Mervyn declined to comment on Ka¯inga Ora’s decision, but said the couple enjoyed the murals. ‘‘They’re nicely done, lovely vibrant colours and it makes the place more cheerful.’’
This is not the first time a Government agency has blocked an artist. In 2011, the then New Plymouth District Council worker Mikaere Gardiner, known as Eno, who last year competed on The Block NZ, faced disciplinary action after ‘‘enhancing’’ the city with cartoon faces.