Vintage street art at Graffiato festival
Catch a street artist live in action on Friday evening of Labour Weekend, and you might even score yourself an original Graffiato artwork too.
The Graffiato Taupo¯ Street Art Festival returns over Labour Weekend and as well as watching the artists working around the streets and alleyways during the event, you can also catch them at the Cozy Corner Courtyard in the Suncourt Plaza from 5.30pm on the Friday night.
The 10 Graffiato artists will be engaging in the vintage drawing game Exquisite Corpse, which many people played as a child. One person does the head, then passes it unseen to the next person who does the body and another who does the legs, before the whole creation is unveiled.
Towncentre Taupo¯ general manager Julie McLeod says the artists will be working on five different canvases mounted on easels and using paint pens. They will have 10 minutes for each section and once the artworks are completed there will be a fundraising auction.
With several of this year’s Graffiato artists having professional training in illustration and other areas the completed exquisite corpses will be collectable items.
“It’s a fun way for people to take the artworks home and they should be very quirky, interesting, different pieces,” Julie says. “So it should be a really fun interactive evening and a chance to meet the artists, and people who attend can give it a go as well on a sketch pad, but there’s no pressure.”
■ Graffiato Artists In Action, Suncourt Plaza, Friday October 19, 5.30-7.30pm. Auction at 7pm. Free, RSVP for catering to alice@towncentretaupo.co.nz