Tuia 250 Whitianga Street Art Festival

The Tuia 250 Street Art Festival will take place in Whitianga during 4 to 8 March between the annual Art Escape Open Studio weekends.

Mercury Bay Art Escape has organised this festival specifically to highlight the national Tuia - Encounters 250 commemorations. Te Whanganui a Hei (Mercury Bay) has great seafaring significance as this is where the great navigator Kupe visited many centuries ago and in 1769 was one of four landing sites for Cook’s ship The Endeavour.

This exciting free event will allow visitors to see local and internationally recognised street artists create 12 murals on walls in the Whitianga central business area.

The festival will feature internationally recognised street artists Charles and Janine Williams and Flox and TrustMe. Mercury Bay Art Escape artists including their patron Michael Smither and popular street artists from the Coromandel, Hamilton and Auckland will also participate.

Each mural will depict themes of navigation or First Encounters - the coming together of Maori and European in Te Whanganui a Hei (Mercury Bay).

A free guide leaflet giving details of the art walk during the festival will be available from the Mercury Bay Art Escape website.

Featured of artists:

Auckland:
- Charles and Janine Williams
- Flox & TrustMe Collaboration

Hamilton:
- Pauly B

Mercury Bay Art Escape Artists (MBAE):
- Michael D Smither (CNZM, MBAE Patron Artist)
- Peter Nicholson (Whitianga Art Group)
- Monique Rush (Whitianga based MBAE member)
- Dave Fowell (MBAE founding artist)

Coromandel:
- Catlin Moloney

Community Wall:
- A community collaborative mural wall will be completed and installed during September 2019.
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For more details contact Festival organiser:
Jane Parson 021 228 6644

This festival has been made possible with funding from Lottery Tuia – Encounters 250 grants with Te Whanganui a Hei Mercury 250 Trust and the generous support of the artists and landowners involved. Sponsorship from Resene, The Warehouse Whitianga, The Lost Spring and Hire Worx. With support from Creative Waikato and Thames Coromandel District Council - Mercury Bay Community Board.