More women are dipping into street art
A strong female lineup has been secured for the 7th annual Graffiato: Taupo¯ Street Art Festival to be held in Taupo¯ ’s town centre this Labour Weekend.
Established artist Erin Forsyth, muralist Mica Still and typedesigner Kelly Spencer are among the headline artists attending the festival in October.
‘‘Street art is typically male dominated, so we’re really excited to bring together some of New Zealand’s most talented female artists into one festival’’ says event curator Ross Liew.
This year’s festival is also the biggest lineup of event first-timers since it began in 2007.
Liew says visitors can look forward to new styles and approaches this year.
While festivals of this nature now feature around the country, the 120 or so pieces created over the years in Taupo¯, as part of Graffiato, represents the widest ranging and most comprehensive survey of New Zealand artists working in this field.
The Graffiato: Taupo¯ Street Art Festival kicks off on Friday 20 October with a one of a kind mixed media collaboration and evening with the artists at the Taupo¯ Museum. Festival artists will each have 10 minutes to contribute their design to an ‘Exquisite Corpse’, and five artworks will be auctioned off on the night. The evening is open to the public and drinks and nibbles will be provided.
From Saturday morning, visitors will have the opportunity to watch artists at work as they create their large-scale artworks over the three days. Visitors can pick up a walking map, chat to the artists, and discover many of the 80 other pieces around the town centre created at prior festivals.
‘‘There’s a real buzz around town over this festival weekend – it’s a great opportunity for visitors to witness the walls of our town transform into works of art, and engage with the artists as they work’’ says Towncentre Taupo¯ general manager and festival manager Julie McLeod.
‘‘Our vision is for Taupo¯’s street art to become an iconic ‘must-do’ for travelers and we’re definitely seeing a growth in interest in Graffiato from visitors to the town centre.’’
Later this year a more comprehensive walking map profiling key pieces, including 2017 artworks and their location, will be available for visitors wanting to explore the full survey of works.