First in new Motueka mural series finished

May 23rd, 2013
[by David Armstrong]

One down and eight to go - that's the score for the Motueka Murals team as the last strokes are applied today to the "Adventure" mural on the Elevation Cafe wall.

Over the past three weeks about 30 volunteer painters, "gophers", scaffold-shifters and paint-mixers at various times have contributed to the stunningly detailed mural, which features a range of adventure recreational activities found in the Motueka area and nearby parks.

Organised by Motueka Murals, a committee of the Vision Motueka group, and under the supervision of Ruby Bay lead artist and professional muralist Alex Burnett, the team have interpreted the design provided for free by Image Creators owner Andy Lowe.

The mural includes images of tramping in Mt Arthur, canyoning at a waterfall, various aerial activities over Motueka aerodrome, walking a golden beach and kayaking in the National Park. Several adventure tourism operaters have helped financially in the project.

Resene, through Keep New Zealand Beautiful, supplied all the paint at no cost, and Izzy and her team at Elevation Cafe made sure the volunteers were always sustained with fries, pizzas, cakes and other refreshments.

And already planning is beginning for the next mural in the series of nine. Several building owners are offering their walls for these eye-catching, large-scale works of art, and the next one will be on the north wall of Image Creators and feature the theme of "Industry".

Thanks to generous donations and contributions from a wide number of organisations and businesses, there is enough money left over to begin the second mural, which the committee hopes will be finished by September.

The Motueka Murals project will involve nine murals over the next few years, each based on a theme such as First People, Colonisation, Transport, the River, and Horticulture. Most will include historical elements and input from the Historical Association, and use common visual cues such as the surrounding frame and the bold title for each of the themes.

The murals committee say this will help visitors do a "murals walk" to see the whole picture of the history, culture and environment of the town.

The organising committee comprised Kahu Geor and Linda Woodgate (both members of Vision Motueka), youth worker Paul Johnson and artist Harald Laraaker. They have now been joined by signwriter Andy Lowe to ensure the series of murals will provide images of excellence that the town will be proud of and visitors will admire and remember.

Alex Burnett has also offered to help with all future town murals, and a handful of talented local artists who came forward and helped with many of the more detailed sections have vowed to be back for more when the next mural starts.

Some of the volunteers gathered to celebrate their work last Sunday. (Photo by Peter Woodgate)

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