UCOL supports international street art festival

Four new murals will add to the vibrancy of UCOL Manawatū, with the campus being one of the locations for Palmerston North’s first international street art festival.

Street Prints Papaioea is running from 15 January to 22 January and will see international and local artists team up with budding young artists to paint 20 large scale murals around Palmerston North.

Palmerston North City Council, Street Prints NZ, and Pushing Art in NZ Trust (PAINT) have teamed up to bring the festival to the city.

UCOL is sponsoring the event with funding and the use of its facilities.

Four murals will be painted on walls at UCOL, including Block 3 on King Street, Block 7 on Queen Street, and two walls in Carpark C on Queen Street.

New York-based New Zealand artist Elliot O’Donnell (a.k.a. Askew One), Australian Helen Proctor, Palmerston North’s Gemma Farrell (a.k.a. Gembol) and Ephraim Russell will be painting the murals at UCOL.

Farrell, a UCOL graduate, has already painted many murals and other street art projects around Palmerston North.

Fellow UCOL graduates Mikal Carter (a.k.a. Swift Mantis) and Heneriata Te Whata will also be painting murals as part of the festival, while a number of current UCOL students have signed up for the youth mentoring programme.

As well as mural-painting, Street Prints Papaioea will include art workshops, exhibitions, and an auction. The festival will conclude with a tour of the newly-finished murals.

The theme of the festival is ‘Kua Kakahutia te Rangimarie’ or ‘Under the Cloak of Peace’, which was developed in collaboration with Rangitaane.

UCOL Executive Dean of Humanities and Business Dean Rankin says UCOL is proud to support the event.

“Manawatū has a strong arts community with many talented artists living in the region. Hosting an event like this is a real win for the city, and we are excited to see the murals around Palmerston North and our campus.”

“Street Prints Papaioea is a great opportunity for young artists to learn from experienced professionals and leave their mark on UCOL and Palmerston North. This festival extends the collaboration between PNCC and our UCOL Creative Media students that has already seen designs added to the road on Queen Street, and street art added to the walls of the UCOL Block 2 building on Queen Street and on the walkway through to Grey Street.”

Street Prints has been running in Mount Maunganui biennially since 2015, with Christchurch and Whangarei events also taking place in recent years. The festival will make its way to Hokkaido, Japan later this year.

The artists will start painting from 12pm on 16 January and continue their work from 9am to 5pm each day for the remainder of the festival.

For more information visit https://www.facebook.com/events/palmerston-north-new-zealand/street-prints-papaioea-2020/828094760954364/.

Any young artists wanting to be part of the youth mentoring programme can register at https://www.streetprints.org/papaioea/street-prints-papaioea-youth-registration/.

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