Community Rallied for their Artistic Efforts

A new project to manage graffiti by encouraging communities to beautify their neighbourhoods is being launched this week.

The community mural project is a district-wide initiative by New Plymouth District Council and the Graffiti Free Network to address graffiti vandalism and also develop community pride, and is fully funded by the Crime Prevention Unit of the Ministry of Justice.

“This project encourages young people and adults to work together and have input into not only the subject matter of the mural, but also its design and the actual painting of it,” says Acting Manager Community Development Mary-Anne Priest.

“A community mural establishes ownership of the art piece among the neighbourhood residents and helps build community pride, at the same time as we’re tapping into the artistic strengths of young people and adults.

“What we need now is for people to suggest good locations for community murals, and for people or community groups to put their hands up to be involved in this project.”

The community murals will be painted on 2.4m x 1.2m plywood boards which will be coated with an anti-graffiti coating and mounted onto a selected wall or fence.

In early 2008 a mural project in Marfell resulted in 15 murals, which have greatly reduced incidents of graffiti vandalism in this area.

The successful applicants will work with council staff and representatives of the Graffiti Network to help organise their projects, while the applicants will organise their community to finalise the details and design concept.

Community mural application forms will be available from council offices and on this website from this Wednesday (25 March).