Other events may have had to cancel under level 2 but at least you can still visit Taupō and watch paint dry over Labour Weekend.
The 2021 instalment of Graffiato, the town’s 11-year-old street art festival, may have been hit by Covid-19 travel restrictions and a broken ankle limiting the artists who could attend, but organisers said the five would “still be creating amazing new artwork” in the town centre.
They have dubbed this year’s event ‘The Mini’ owing to the halving of the usual 10-12 artists involved.
“Sure it’s watching paint dry,” said festival coordinator Alice Thompson, “but it’s some pretty exciting and vibrant paint.”
Dr Suits (Nathan Ingram) from Christchurch, would be fun to watch, in particular, for his use of colour, she said.
He will be joined by New Plymouth’s Milarky, while the unavailability of Auckland-based muralists had created a boon for Taupō artists to fill other spots.
“Everything gets cancelled or postponed, and we thought ‘no, let’s go ahead and celebrate our local artists.’ We have a new artist who’s recently moved home and joined, so it’s quite nice to be able to give new people a leg up.”
That artist – Bode Klein – will be making his first attendance at Graffiato. Born in New Zealand, Klein lived his early years in Scotland and later moved to Denver, Colorado.
He began his education in the arts as a teenager; writing graffiti on the streets, only later to achieve a Bachelor of Fine Art from Metropolitan State University.
Other Taupō-based artists are designer Gemini who has volunteered at many Graffiato events, and will now participate as a painter and Tāne Flawless, a veteran of six previous festivals.
Also marooned in Auckland, though, is the festival’s new curator Olivia Liata from Aotearoa Urban Arts Trust - who replaces Ross Liew.
“It was important for us to try our very best not to cancel it,” said Liata.
Liew and organisers, Town Centre Taupō, had pushed through in 2020 despite Covid-19, she said.
“Obviously, this year is harder, but we can still say that this is New Zealand’s longest running mural festival… and we’re not letting Covid get in the way.”
Liata admitted she would be experiencing the festival vicariously – “like a lot of my life at the moment” – catching up on the festival’s progress via social media postings by the artists or organisers.
“It’s a pity because I really wanted to meet the three local artists, which is the most Graffiato has ever had.”
“It’s important to have more local artists feel included and to be given the opportunity.”
The continuation of Graffiato follows the cancellation of a number of local events, such as midday concerts in September, October and November and this month’s annual Trinity Concert of music students, where organisers felt reduced numbers for social distancing would have curtailed audiences to an impractical or unprofitable degree.
But Taupō has also missed out on larger acts like Auckland-born singer-songwriter PRINS with her cancellation of a 20-date nationwide tour that included the town in October.
Still being advertised in the meantime are a SKRAM single release party on November 6 and tribute acts to the Bee Gees and The Eagles Experience, as well as the Le Currents culture and arts festival, all in December.
Whether they go ahead may yet depend on alert levels or vaccination certificates, but for Thompson the only fly in the ointment is the weather over Labour Weekend.
“It might be overcast and possibly raining on the Monday, but that sometimes makes the artists paint quicker.”
Credit: Stuff.co.nz
