Murals spring up on Chorus roadside cabinets

Murals spring up on Chorus roadside cabinets

24 June 2014

Ten Chorus roadside cabinets around Hastings will soon have a new and brighter look, thanks to a mural painting project.

The Chorus cabinet art painting programme began in Auckland in 2010 and has since been and extended across many towns and cities around New Zealand. In Hastings the designs have been created and painted by Kahu Toi artists.

Artist Melysa Tapiata says “Kahu Toi refers to being ‘enclothed with art’. Our emerging artist group is made up of thirteen tertiary students who are completing a Te Wānanga o Aotearoa visual arts degree at Toimairangi based in Hastings.”

Melysa Tapiata says “The designs were developed following a number of consultative meetings, further research and design refinement. This project has led to a series of painted cabinets that celebrate the cultural history and modern wellbeing of the Hastings region.”

Hastings Deputy Mayor Cynthia Bowers says “It is exciting to see these wonderful designs coming to life on the cabinets. The project has two major purposes; firstly it helps brighten up the area where the cabinet is located and secondly it has proved to be a major deterrent to graffiti attacks. The designs are innovative and a real credit to the students who are involved in the project.”

Melysa Tapiata says “The project is more than just doing something to stop graffiti from appearing on a green box. It’s about beautifying our community. As young people, we wanted other rangatahi and others to gain an appreciation for the places where the Chorus cabinets stand with our art."

The cabinets and their murals:

Te Mata Rd, Havelock North: Ampitheatre: music, wine and food amped up!

Te Mata & Simla Rd, Havelock North: Ngā Tapuwae o Rongokako; a giant and his footprints

Tauroa Rd, Havelock North: Tukituki; flows with milk and honey

Heretaunga St East, Hastings: Hastings Blossom Parade: yesteryear and
today

Grove Rd, Hastings: Fantasy Land in Godzone

Pakowhai Rd & Frederick St, Hastings: Māori pā sites and kōwhai trees

Nottingly Rd, Hastings: Art Deco town clock and Kiwiana sheep

Omahu Rd, Hastings: Ngaruroro; the waves of the fish ripple across the plains

Diaz Drive, Flaxmere: Many are woven into our cultural mat

Maraekakaho Rd, Hastings: Kahu Toi and the Cape

ENDS

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