That's a wrap! Whanganui Walls street art festival a hit

Whanganui's central city looks even more colourful thanks to the work of some of New Zealand's most talented street artists.

Officially wrapping up on Sunday afternoon, the second Whanganui Walls festival transformed eight walls across the city with various colourful representations of creativity and social commentary.

This year marked the second year the event has been staged in Whanganui, bringing with it not only a chance for Whanganui residents to see their city stamped with colour but also a music festival on Saturday night to draw party-goers into town.

Across the city on Sunday, artists were busy adding the finishing touches to their murals, most of which began work on Thursday or Friday.

At the youth wall, 16-year-old Whanganui High School student Freyja Wrigglesworth was one of a number of local students handpicked to put together their own mural just off Drews Ave (other Whanganui High School aspiring artists working at the youth wall included Imogen Maguire and Rose Hird).

Wrigglesworth decided to add a slightly upbeat feel as her addition to the collective effort, choosing to paint a number of native birds seen across Whanganui.

"I sort of shifted to something I liked like birds. The theme of the mural was originally supposed to be bush fires, but that sort of shifted," Wrigglesworth said.

The student was supposed to be involved in the youth mural at last year's event which was cancelled due to Covid-19.

"I was supposed to do it last year, so it's good to be out finally taking part."

Also adding the finishing touches to his work was former Whanganui-based artist Dan Mills, who had put together his mural based on a design put together by his children.

"This is the first time I've been at a festival. I'm loving it," Mills said.

For event organiser Si Ormerod, the weekend went off better than anyone in the team expected.

"It was just insane. There were crowds of people at each mural on Saturday. It really jumped up another level," Ormerod told the Chronicle on Sunday afternoon.

According to Ormerod, the event was significantly bigger than 2019, with all of the event booklets disappearing within a day and a half and significantly larger crowds at both the murals and the music event on Saturday night.

"We had the music on Saturday night as well and it just went off," he said. "The response to that was great.

"The Whanganui community really came out for both the music and the art. We're really happy."

Ethan Griffiths
Whanganui Chronicle 20/3/21