Chorus is partnering with Waimakariri District Council to transform six and artists are encouraged to get their designs in before August 31.

Mayor Dan Gordon says he is pleased to be partnering with Chorus again to bring more cabinet art to Waimakariri.

“I am a passionate supporter of the arts and we know that artwork makes our towns more vibrant and livelier. This is a fantastic opportunity for local artists to get involved and showcase their work which can only be positive for our district,” he said.

Chorus Community Relations Manager Jo Seddon says that it makes sense to partner with local councils, as they have the same goal in mind to discourage graffiti vandalism.

“It is great to work with local councils when it comes to choosing cabinets and designs as they know what their community needs,” she said.

“Waimakariri District Council will be working with the Public Arts Trust to select the winning design for each cabinet.”

These cabinets become works of art, often telling stories about the communities in which they are located and help to discourage tagging.

Waimakariri has also been chosen as one of the towns nationwide to be part of the Rainbow cabinet art initiative.

“Anyone can put forward a design, with the only stipulation that it has meaning and promotes diversity and inclusion,” Mrs Seddon says.

Submissions are now open till 31 August and the winning design for each cabinet will be chosen from entries received.

Information can be found on Chorus’ dedicated webpage.

Existing murals can be seen here.

Background:

In 2010 Chorus began a trial in Auckland to test if artworks on the cabinets decreased the frequency of tagging.

This proved successful so the programme has been extended to include artworks throughout the country.

The main criteria for considering a cabinet as a candidate for artwork is the frequency of tagging, as the mural becomes cost effective through eliminating cleaning costs. However other avenues are also considered, such as community or council requests and involvement.