Murals and street art

Murals and street art add vibrancy and colour to our city. It's an easy way to liven up otherwise dull areas like thoroughfares or laneways. 

Woman and child pose in front of mural.

Why murals?

Palmy is a creative and lively city. Public art brings the creativity and talent of our local community into our public spaces in a way that is authentic and meaningful to them.

Street art can come in many different forms, from wall murals to footpath stencils. It benefits our city by: 

  • encouraging creative expression from a range of people, from local artists to youth and community groups
  • reflecting the values of a local community or business
  • bringing increased foot traffic into an area, making a safer, more sociable, and economically healthy place
  • enhancing the look and feel of a place by reducing the depressing impact of blank walls and tagging.

Take a look at our Public Art Guide for a list of all of the public art pieces across Palmy and get inspired.

How?

Local artist enquiries

If you're an emerging local artist keen to add your work to the city, some of these tools might be of use:

  • Make use of the free walls located on the Palmy art map. These are walls in the city where you can make art without a Council permit. They're a great tool for refining your style or testing out ideas.
  • If you don't yet have a portfolio in outdoor art, you can get support for materials to make a temporary piece of art on the free wall behind Te Manawa (Church Street side). Show us your style and work ethic so we can recommend you for commissions.
  • Send us your portfolio and contact details to keep on file. We'll consider recommending you when the right private commission, infrastructure project or street art festival comes up.

Professional street art commissions

We can help businesses, tenants and building owners to commission local artists or art collaborations that involve local artists. See the Street Art Manual for more information.

Street Art Manual(PDF, 1MB)

Community murals

Neighbourhoods and community groups wanting to lead their own public art project can get support in a couple of ways.

 Apply to Council's Creative Communities Scheme for funding for materials or artists

Ask your local Resene store about donating paint for your project, or enter its annual Colour Your Community competition

Footpath murals

Chalk-art and temporary art can be a quickfire way to add colour to a place. No permission is required.

Footpath murals may need the support of any property owners or tenants next to the space so there are opportunities for them to get involved. Have a think about how long you want the mural to last and which products will be non-slip. Feel free to contact us for help.

Learn a new skill and create a stencil using the vinyl cutter from  Blueprint: The City Library Makerspace

Road murals

Road murals can reinforce streets as places for people and be a great opportunity to create a focal point for your neighbourhood.

Combined with traffic-calming elements, road murals can help to create safer spaces for people on bike and foot.

With six road murals already in place, we have figured out the best products and processes to use for both community involvement and road safety. Get in touch with us about your road mural idea.

Case study

Read story on Stuff: Queen Street gets brightened up thanks to UCOL students river-inspired design

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