An artist’s impression of one of the proposed murals for the sake park. Photo: Supplied.
The wheels are rolling on a proposed $15,000 mural project for Te Awamutu’s new skate park.
The 14-month-old million-dollar facility in Centennial Park – which also includes parkour features – opened in September last year after a six-month build.
Now, in a report tabled at the November meeting of the Te Awamutu-Kihikihi Community Board, Waipā District Council museums and heritage director Anne Blyth has proposed painting eight murals on the walls of various skate features at the park.
The cost of the project was included in the initial build cost of the skate park, she said.
Blyth said work on the murals could start next month when the school term ended, and completed murals would be place at the park by the end of January.
Approval for the project was to be sought at yesterday’s meeting of the Strategic Planning and Policy committee, held after The News went to print.
Mana whenua artists who whakapapa to Ngāti Apakura have been engaged to design and paint the murals.
Proposed designs focus on interpreting the Ōtāwhao settlement once located on the skate park site.
The artists were asked to consider the “place, people and stories” in their designs.
Community board member Sally Whitaker questioned the proposed December time frame, saying the project should be completed outside of
school holidays.
She suggested February or March could be better suited.
“I would just note that school holidays are likely when the skate park will be used the most.”
Blyth said she was confident the site – and project – could be managed safely over the proposed December time frame.
“We won’t be closing the whole park, it will be done in sections,” she said.
Blyth said in her report the mural project aims to provide multiple benefits “…through softening the hard surfaces of the skatepark and deterring
potential tagging and graffiti.”
The artwork would be coated to protect it against tagging.
