Street art a knockout winner in Aranui

Murals on the walls of a boxing gym have sparked a community movement targeting graffiti in Aranui.

In June 18-year-old artist Jacob Root painted two murals of boxers Muhammad Ali and Joseph Parker on the walls of the A-Town boxing gym as part of a Christchurch City Council-led project to deter tagging in the area.

One of the colourful panels painted by Haeata Community Campus students on the Hampshire St shop walls.

Since then, the Aranui Street Art Project has grown to include another large mural painted by members of Bros for Change, an alternative education programme for young people, on the other side of the gym.

Smaller, brightly coloured artworks have been painted on large sheets of plywood by Haeata Community Campus students and attached to the Hampshire St shop walls, and another large mural depicting the history of the area has recently been completed, also painted by Jacob Root, on a wall near the Hampshire-Beresford St corner.

A Chorus box has also been painted with a mural of local personalities on the corner of Hampshire St and Breezes Rd by Te Kupenga o Aranui Youth Worker Silivelio Fasi Lio.

Council Graffiti Team Project Co-ordinator Kerryn Findlater says the community has strongly backed the project which involves the Council, Community Policing team, Haeata Campus teacher Courtney Brown, Bros for Change and several local students and artists.

She says locals are loving the artworks and members of the community are keen to take over running the project and creating new pieces of art. At the same time, reports of graffiti in Aranui have dramatically reduced.

“We’re not getting any tags on the artworks at all. People are valuing their environment as opposed to tagging it.

“It’s been awesome. It started with one mural and it’s taken over the whole street and everyone is getting involved and local kids are really proud to see the artworks and a lot of them know the artists.”

The Council’s Graffiti Programme has supported the project by providing resources, funding and co-ordination.

Graffiti Programme Team Leader Val Merryweather says the project has proved an effective way of deterring unsightly tagging and, instead, inspiring a sense of community. “The way that the community has taken ownership of this and a problem has transformed into something positive is a sign that the Council is taking the right approach.”