Artist Mica Still is set to transform a Whanganui wall next month. Photo / Supplied
Artist Mica Still is set to transform a Whanganui wall next month. Photo / Supplied
Street art festival Whanganui Walls is returning next month, after being cancelled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Seven New Zealand-based artists will create original street artwork in the city's CBD on March 19-21, with a free concert at Majestic Square on Saturday, March 20, also part of the festivities.
Flox, Charles and Janine Williams, Swiftmantis, Milarky, and Mica Still, along with local artists Dan Mills and Mike Marsh, are set to transform walls in central Whanganui into pieces of art.
Renowned Auckland band Pluto will headline the music side of the festival, with Raw Collective, Skilaa, DARTZ, Bad Hagrid, Damn Raucous Brass and Licks playing throughout the day and evening.
Organiser Shanti Sibbing said the line-up of both artists and musicians was now complete, with a final announcement coming on Friday.
"We go through quite a rigorous selection process early on to try and get a nice array of artists," Sibbing said.
"It is an open brief, but we do give them a little package that includes a few interesting stories about Whanganui if they want to use that as some inspiration.
Swiftmantis will take part in this year's Whanganui Walls street art festival. Photo / Supplied
"Basically, the building owner will look at the style of work and approve it, then get a concept through and approve that as well."
Fellow organiser Si Ormerod said "first and foremost" he and Sibbing brought artists they loved to Whanganui.
"Then we hope everyone else will love them all, and while you don't always get that, there's always going to be something for someone," Ormerod said.
"People are chomping at the bit to get out there, and New Zealand is in a super lucky situation with this whole [Covid-19] thing. We feel like we're almost back to normality, which isn't the case around the world.
"For us, it's about making sure everything is in place to hold an event under the current circumstances."
Whanganui Walls, which debuted in 2019, will be free to the public, and Sibbing said she hoped the day of music on the Saturday would enhance the festival vibe they were aiming for.
"We're stoked with the musical line-up, and it's free and open to all ages from 1.30pm to 10pm.
"Having the music as well makes it more of a complete package, and it's another reason for people to come to Whanganui as well. Things won't just end at five o'clock with people wondering 'what do we do now?'."
It took six to eight months of preparation to get everything together for Whanganui Walls, Ormerod said.
The art created at Whanganui Walls remains a permanent fixture of the city's CBD. Photo / Bevan Conley
"Even during the festival there's a lot of logistics and operations to make sure everything keeps on.
"You can't just put something on and then walk away, you've got to be switched on right the way through, and afterwards as well."
Sibbing said the whole idea of Whanganui Walls was to create something that was "easily walkable" for the public.
"We've been to festivals before that were a little more spread out, and you have to jump in your car and drive out to somewhere, and it doesn't quite create the vibe that we're going for here.
