Strong female lineup announced for 2017 Graffiato

Strong female lineup announced for 2017 Graffiato: Taupō Street Art Festival

A strong female lineup is among the talent secured for the 7th annual Graffiato: Taupō Street Art Festival to be held in Taupō’s town centre this Labour Weekend.

Established artist Erin Forsyth, muralist Mica Still and type-designer Kelly Spencer are among the headline artists attending the festival in October.

“Street art is typically male dominated, so we’re really excited to bring together some of New Zealand’s most talented female artists into one festival” says event curator Ross Liew.

This year’s festival is also the biggest lineup of event first-timers since it began in 2007.

Liew says visitors can look forward to brand new styles and approaches joining the collection in Taupō this year.

“Over the years Graffiato has been running there has been a global shift in street-based wall painting culture. Originally the domain of traditional muralists and graffiti artists, we’re now seeing artists come to muralism via studio practice and illustration as opposed to the traditional routes of graffiti and street art,” he says.

While festivals of this nature now feature around the country, the 120 or so pieces created over the years in Taupō, as part of Graffiato, represents the widest ranging and most comprehensive survey of New Zealand artists working in this field.

“No other city has such a rich collection of walls where you can see the breadth of talent and vision that resides within our country,"

“Sometimes the artist won't know what they’re going to create until they start working, that’s the beauty of street art” says Ross.

The Graffiato: Taupō Street Art Festival kicks off on Friday 20 October with a one of a kind mixed media collaboration and evening with the artists at the Taupō Museum. Festival artists will each have 10 minutes to contribute their design to an ‘Exquisite Corpse’, and five artworks will be auctioned off on the night. The evening is open to the public and drinks and nibbles will be provided.

From Saturday morning, visitors will have the opportunity to watch artists at work as they create their large-scale artworks over the three days. Visitors can pick up a walking map, chat to the artists, and discover many of the 80 other pieces around the town centre created at prior festivals.

“There’s a real buzz around town over this festival weekend – it’s a great opportunity for visitors to witness the walls of our town transform into works of art, and engage with the artists as they work” says Towncentre Taupō general manager and festival manager Julie McLeod.

“Our vision is for Taupō’s street art to become an iconic ‘must-do’ for travelers and we’re definitely seeing a growth in interest in Graffiato from visitors to the town centre” says Julie.

Later this year a more comprehensive walking map profiling key pieces, including 2017 artworks and their location, will be available for visitors wanting to explore the full survey of works.

For more information and event details go to www.TaupoStreetArt.co.nz

ENDS

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