Street Art Cities

In 2019 eight national and international artists were invited to take part in the first street art festival in Whanganui. Although there was no set theme, they were given some historical information, and a four-day time period to paint their murals on buildings in the central downtown area. Most of the artwork reflected some aspect of Whanganui’s past or present, and this made it a more interesting display than just a set of random murals. Artists included: Cinzah, Gina Kiel, Amok Island, J Chrisohoou, Hayley Welsh, Pat Perry, Cracked Ink, Claire Foxton, Elliot Francis Stewart. 

Stewart’s mural shows ‘a strong female character who has adorned herself with a variety of accessories that reference moments in Whanganui’s past and present.’ For example, the coffee mug has a ‘Made in NZ’ logo on it referencing the song ‘Pie Cart Rock and Roll,’ which was New Zealand’s first home-grown rock ‘n roll song written by Johnny Cooper- the Maori Cowboy, a kiwi rock ‘n roll pioneer, who was known to frequent the Whanganui Pie Cart on St Hill St.