Making historical impression

Papamoa Kindergarten and ACG Tauranga created murals that will serve as a time capsule at Tauranga Art Gallery. Photo / Supplied

Time capsule murals have been created by Bay children to be hidden beneath the walls of Tauranga Art Gallery.

The murals were created by students from Papamoa Kindergarten and ACG Tauranga on the walls of the Vault Gallery and will be open for viewing by the public until September 27, when they will be permanently covered up.

Built in 1964, the room served as the vault for the Tauranga branch of the Bank of New Zealand, before the whole building was renovated to become Tauranga Art Gallery, which opened to the public in 2007.

Lining will be installed over the walls, covering the murals for a future generation to discover.

Ms Wilson said the kindy's and school's murals were very different, but both centred around the theme of whakapapa (genealogy).

All 40 of Papamoa Kindergarten's children used their hands to create a wall of poppies, inspired by their admiration for Vincent van Gogh's Field of Poppies.

The kindy has been doing a project about the Anzac legacy and the children's ties to wars throughout history.

ACG Tauranga's students created wood blocks with images they designed themselves to represent their genealogy and cultural background.

These were printed on vinyl and layered on the wall to create a wallpaper effect.

Ms Wilson said after the exhibition closed on September 27, the murals would be covered up and not seen again for decades or even a century from now.

The exhibition was opened on Saturday with about 200 people visiting during the first hour.