The Scoop: NZ Mural Contest & Arts Festival (Katikati)

NZ Mural Contest & Arts Festival

28 September – 5 October

It’s time for another year of Katikati’s NZ Mural Contest: a week long vibrant celebration of the arts coordinated by Katikati Open-Air Art, with musicians, sculptors, entertainers, performers, markets and more, filling Katikati with creativity. The mural contest features six talented creatives who will be displaying their skills to the public while contributing to the town’s colourful history.

We’ve got the scoop on the Where, What and When of the festival’s schedule. Take a look…

The festival’s schedule is jam-packed with activities – here are just a few we think you’ve GOTTA get to:

If you’re heading up for the opening weekend of the festival, make sure you get to the Mural Tour, starting at 11am Saturday 28 September at the Katikati Information Centre. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about the murals and the towns history with a guided tour of some of the 76 pieces of art in the collection. There will be another tour at 11am Saturday 5 October.
All day, every day of the festival, the Arts Junction will be hosting the Bike Rack Design Competition where creatives have submitted their ideas for some groovy bike racks to be installed in the region.
In the Arts Junction Theatre, you’ll find a kaleidoscope of decorated butterflies that will be silently auctioned off over the week to help raise festival funds.
The Katikati Art Group Expo will be on display in the Katikati Memorial Hall all week from 10am – 4pm each day, where members of the group will be exhibiting their different styles and mediums. Original art at affordable prices!
The mural artists start their murals at 12pm Monday 30 September, in the Arts Junction Theatre! They’ll be painting each day and the public will be able to watch their process. The mural theme this year is: LIFE IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS. The artists are encouraged to make mind bending visual illusions within their murals.
From 28 Sept – 1 Oct in The Centre Patuki Manawa, you can check out the kite display from 11am – 2pm. On Sunday 6 October is Art in the Air – Kite Day, where you can witness the beauty of the kites taking to the sky.
There’s heaps on for the kids as well, with activities and competitions in the Arts Junction each day, face painting, puppet shows, and the Secret Fairy Garden to name a few. Head to the Arts Junction and pick up instructions for the daily treasure hunts too!
The Thames Valley Embroiderer’s Guild are exhibiting in Patuki Manawa from 1 – 5 October, celebrating as many forms of stitching as they can with over 30 techniques on display. Check out the stunning floral art display in the same venue from 3 – 5 Oct too! The Katikati Floral Art Group have used the illusionary festival theme to create imaginative, public displays.
On Thursday 4 Oct, you can head to the back of the Arts Junction for an art workshop in creating suncatchers! The Junction have set up a space for art workshops each day of the festival, including monoprints, paint pouring, 3D drawing, and pointillism.
Later in the evening, you can catch a concert performed by the entrants in the Songs for the Murals Competition in the Junction Theatre. The songs are all based on one of the art pieces in the Open Air Art Gallery.
On Saturday you can browse the Open Air Art and Craft Market from 9am – 2pm in Diggelmann Park: boutique, retro, funky. That’s the theme of the market this year and it’s all go!
The butterfly auction closes at 2pm on Saturday, and the festival prizegiving will take place at 6:30pm at the Katikati Memorial Hall. Magician Mike Lindsay will be performing as part of the prizegiving – a Vegas-style magic show in Katikati! Tickets available from the Arts Junction. Doors open 6pm.