Six huge murals to be painted on central Tauranga buildings as part of a street art festival later this month will become permanent features of the city.
Agreements have been reached with building owners to allow the paintings to go ahead, and Tauranga City Council has confirmed that work will begin as soon as this weekend.
A council spokeswoman said British-born Lucy McLauchlan would start painting a wall of the Brooklyn Bar and Grill at 53 The Strand "in the next couple of days".
Five other artists will start painting murals from Thursday, finishing by the end of the month. They are Askew One from Auckland, Sofles from Brisbane, Jacob Yikes from Christchurch, Fintan Magee from Sydney, and Charles and Janine Williams from Auckland.
The spokeswoman invited the public to watch and photograph the murals as they were being painted. She said it would take 30 to 45 minutes to walk around the sites.
The paintings are part of an 11-week street art festival, named Paradox.
Festival artistic director George Shaw described the murals as "sizeable artworks", with some being several storeys tall and one being "single-storey but long".
The festival is notable for including a major exhibition at the Tauranga Art Gallery, called Oi You. This will include 22 works by the world's most famous street artist, Banksy.
Art works are already being set up in the gallery.
Mr Shaw said several artists would create fresh works inside the gallery, including three large murals and four "artistic installations" that included a "pretty cool" virtual reality piece.
"There's some amazing artwork," he said. "It'll be great."
He expected that the free exhibition would draw people to the gallery who would not normally visit.
In December, several street paintings that appeared in central Tauranga were attributed to Banksy. It was later determined that the English artist was not responsible.
Banksy is not expected to attend the Tauranga festival.
Paradox: Tauranga Street Art Festival
Where: Tauranga Art Gallery and city streets
When: March 28 - June 15
Artists include: Banksy, Fintan Magee, Faile, Paul Insect, Swoon, Antony Micallef, Askew One, Lucy McLauchlan, Rone, Sofles, Jacob Yikes, Charles and Janine Williams
Cost: Free
Mural locations
24 Dive Crescent - artists Charles & Janine Williams
Brooklyn Bar & Grill, 53 The Strand - artist Lucy McLauchlan
Masonic Park at the back of the Tauranga Art Gallery - artist Askew One
Spring Street parking building - artist Yikes
Grey Street service lane - artist Fintan Magee
176 Cameron Road - artist Sofles
Source: Tauranga City Council