Street art aims to bring joy to Motueka
A nature-inspired mural that has transformed an alley in Motueka has gone down well with locals.
Now the artist behind the project aims to brighten up other parts of the town with a few more.
Dani Hedges hopes that at least six murals can be created as part of a two-week street art festival planned for February.
The event would to culminate in a twilight artisan market in the centre of town, where works created during the festival would be displayed, she said.
Hedges said she hoped to ‘‘reconnect’’ the community ‘‘with something joyous’’ in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, and other events that had seen businesses in Motueka struggle.
‘‘Over summer we basically triple in size, but since Covid, that hasn’t really happened. And then we’ve had . . . the weather ruining our roads.
‘‘Throughout Covid, a lot of our local artists couldn’t exhibit, because restaurants weren’t open, galleries weren’t open, lots of markets were closed.
‘‘So it’s giving everyone the opportunity to get back out there and find their feet again.’’
The mural artists would express their connection to the region, with each design reviewed and approved to ensure it fitted with the environment and the wall owners, she said.
Hedges has raised just over $5000 so far, enough to pay for two murals, with a $2000 grant from the Tasman District Council, NBS sponsorship of $2500, and support from nonprofit group Keep Motueka Beautiful and the Motueka Community Store.
She has also applied to Creative NZ for funding, and had set up a crowdfunding page.
So far, five local artists had indicated that they would take part in the festival, she said.
The council said the alley mural Hedges created with artist Melissa Linton and local teenagers a few months ago, depicting Papatu¯anuku (Earth Mother) and her creations, created a ‘‘lighter, brighter, safer space’’.
The council partially funded the project in the alley linking McCarthy Crescent with Wilkinson St, with a Creative Communities grant.
‘‘It was a space I really wanted to change,’’ Hedges said.
‘‘It was quite tagged, quite dirty ... dark.
‘‘I just really wanted to create a more positive space, and show youth you can make public art without trashing it.’’
Linton said she loved the experience of painting on a large scale, and welcomed the chance to work with other artists as part of the festival, and to see more murals ‘‘brightening up our town’’.
Hedges was previously involved in youth projects, including painting an abstract of Ta¯kaka designed by school students on a road in the Golden Bay town.