City Art Walk - Tauranga

A new app-based public art walk opens in Tauranga on 17 October, with the aim of bringing people back into the inner city and connecting them with local stories, artists and artworks.

City Art Walk is a self-guided tour of 20 artworks located in Tauranga's city centre. At around an hour, visitors can wander Tauranga’s streets and laneways.

It is the brainchild of Supercut Projects, a Tauranga-based company, led by arts advisor and strategist Sonya Korohina, who is passionate about connecting locals and visitors with cultural tourism experiences.

“We hope, in taking the tour, people will start to see the city with fresh eyes, and come away with a stronger sense of connection to their home or – for visitors – our city. In researching and working with the various artists and art commissioners we have learnt so much about different approaches to public art making, and uncovered some great stories many of which relate to tangata whenua and social history of the region,” Korohina says.

Stop-offs include the famous tidal stairs project by Auckland based artist Elliot Collins, the beautiful sculpture Pōhutakawa, on Tauranga’s waterfront by Tauranga artist Kereama Taepa, and some historical stained glass windows in the library building which were salvaged from Tauranga’s former Town Hall and repurposed in 1989 by local glass artist Neale Blaymires.

The tour is free of charge. Audiences can download the free mobile app beforehand, or at any of the artworks via an on-site QR code. Each entry in the app gives an insight into the artwork and the artist who created it.

Maps are available from an i-site, Tauranga Art Gallery, Our Place, University of Waikato and other city centre locations. There is a scavenger hunt for kids, as well as a wider community engagement programme over summer.

It will launch as part of Tauranga Arts Festival’s ESCAPE! Writer’s Pop-Up on the weekend of 17 and 18 October, but will continue into the future.

Accessible 24/7, City Art Walk is a fun way to experience Tauranga's exceptional public art art. The City Art Walk app will be available from 17 October on both iOs and Android, via the Google Play and Apple stores.