KEY POINTS:
Art has triumphed over graffiti tags on dozens of utility boxes used for traffic lights and power transformers in Waitakere City.
The highly visible grey steel boxes have attracted their fair share of tags over the years but a scheme where artists cover them with their work has stopped disfigurement by tagging and posters.
Council chief executive Harry O'Rourke pushed for the creative public art project after seeing one in Australia.
The city's Tag Out Trust and the council began with the traffic boxes, which house the controls for traffic signals.
Alan Green and Doug Ford led 10 artists working on the first 17 boxes painted in 2006, with a brief to reflect the character and histories of the local area and so they could be appreciated from both the footpath and road.
The result was colourful paintings of a milk truck, the first car, a foundry, a weta, a boy on crutches (outside Waitakere Hospital) and numerous birds, plants and fishes.
Community arts co-ordinator Julie Nash said the project's popularity and practical successes led to branching out to cover the big Vector transformer boxes on streets.
Massey was chosen as the first area because the council is running a series of community improvement programmes there.
"Massey needed a lift and artworks on the boxes gives a sense of community pride."
Ms Nash said the aim was to do 14 boxes a year. Each box painting costs $2500, which includes artist's fee, public liability insurance and a protective coating which allows any marks to be washed off.
Box owner Vector reimburses the council for preparation and primer coating.
"We had only one tagged and that was a bolder design with some white space in it.
"If you give a blank space, taggers will target it. But when there is beautiful art on it, they don't have the same interest. I think there is also a level of respect for the art.
"This is a popular project and requests are constant from the public to have boxes painted in their areas."
Similar projects are seen in Auckland, Wellington, Papatoetoe and overseas.
