Northland artist Micaela van den Berg unveiled her new award-winning mural, titled 'Sunrise', in a small ceremony at the
Dargaville Public Library last week.
Micaela was one of ten winners from across the country who took out the top prize in Keep New Zealand Beautiful’s Resene
Nature Murals Competition 2022.
The library held a small ceremony with a formal blessing, to bless both Micaela's mural and an existing 'He Tohu o Ngā
Hau e Whā' artwork, that was created for the building in 2007 by Manos Nathan. The new mural, which features a tui atop
harakeke/flax with a stylised sunrise in the background, graces a full exterior wall of the Dargaville Library,
Northland and faces one of the town's main roads.
Micaela's inspiration for the design was to make something bright for her town as well as her local library. "I adore
libraries," she said, "and our one is truly incredible with some amazing, wonderful staff who make this public space
such a pleasure."
Micaela says, "There is quite a strong community of photographers here, and I see so many beautiful photos of the
gorgeous sunrises and sunsets over the Wairoa River and Kaipara hillside." Her mural is a tribute to that, with an
iconic New Zealand songbird to herald it.
"It's about bringing the community together, and giving them something to smile about."
In a post, the library said they were excited to have the mural on the building, and hope it inspires many more local
creatives to make their artistic mark in town.
Micaela used a large selection of Resene paint colours including Crusoe (a deep green), Sunrise (orange/peach), Jalapeno
(deep maroon) and Banana Split (bright yellow). In total Micaela used nearly two dozen separate Resene colours, from
testpot size to full tins of paint, to create the mural.
About the Resene Nature Murals Competition
The Resene Nature Murals Competition, which is part of the Paint New Zealand Beautiful programme, ran from April to June
2022. Community members were called on to submit mural designs, which include an environmental message, for a wall to
paint in their local community. Artists from around the country sent in their designs, with the top ten murals selected
based on their environmental message, enhancement of the community, and originality/creativity. Winners then have 12
months to bring their mural to life.
Winning designs receive a $750 Resene paint voucher and other materials to paint their mural, receive a $1,000 grant
upon completion
Keep New Zealand Beautiful CEO, Heather Saunderson, says: "Our Resene Nature Murals Competition provides a great
opportunity for artists to beautify their local communities. In its sixth year, this competition continues to grow in
popularity and we're always so impressed with the calibre of entries we receive that narrowing down the selection to
just ten winners is getting harder and harder. We're so excited to see these murals come to life, knowing how the
beautification of public spaces greatly benefits communities by increasing civic pride and deterring vandalism and
anti-social behaviour such as littering and graffiti."
The ten winning artists and regions are listed below, with their designs visible on the Keep New Zealand Beautiful website.Micaela van den Berg, Sunrise, KaiparaBrigita Botma, Harmony, AucklandCarol Green & Kim Littlejohn, Bringing Nature to the City, AucklandCorey Harbrow, Keep NZ Beautiful, ChristchurchDanny Owen, Nature, InvercargillLeon Hohepa, Future Generations, PoriruaMatt Russell, Resilience, WellingtonParanika Dudley Heeth, The Return of Nature, AucklandShann Whitaker, The Interconnection of all Living Things, MangawhaiVanessa Barclay, The World is in Our Hands, Cambridge