Park 'n play as artists move in

When a New Plymouth art gallery decided to set up a street cafe on International Parking Day its efforts were swelled considerably by a contingent of Wanganui artists.
International Parking Day is usually September 17, but this one was postponed to October 1 for better weather. On the day people pay parking meters and occupy the spaces to make public art works.
The Wanganui group occupied seven car parks in New Plymouth's Queen St last Friday, artist Julian Priest said.
"We temporarily reconfigured the whole street. People hung around for half an hour or an hour. It was school holidays, so there were lots of kids coming through.
"Everyone who stopped and took part was very positive about it."
The artists brought props and materials for their work. Some laid down carpet, and one made vegetable gardens in old tyres.
Jonah Marinovich invited people to glue model pieces together and add them to a mobile collection. Katherine Claypole had an assortment of old typewriters, office chairs and pieces of paper for people to type comments with.
Mr Priest clamped the gallery director's car. A sticker on it said it could only be used if the driver paid 28 cents a day - the average cost of offsetting the carbon emissions of a family car. She was offered an electric bike as a substitute.
Tom Turner invited people to rub raw pigment on their shoes and then walk across a big piece of paper, making a picture. Philip McConkey invited people to sit down and talk to him about grandparenting in the future.
Tessa Priest and Sue James made a zen garden, where people could either rake the pebbles or sit on a log and listen to recorded skylarks.
The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery's effort was to make a pavement cafe, complete with sofas. New Plymouth District Council took full advantage - with architects and planners sitting there to get feedback about proposed changes to the city centre.
The gallery had never done a Parking Day before, and was only planning to occupy one space.
Sue James and Sophie Klerk received a Creative Communities grant for Wanganui's last Parking Day in March. They used the remaining money to take the concept to New Plymouth.
International Parking Day was started by a group in San Francisco.
Priest said participatory art had been all the rage for the last few years.
"It's really powerful, because instead of just having viewers, you involve the public. The artist is just the facilitator of the space."
Wanganui artists are likely to have another Parking Day during the next Whanganui Artists' Open Studios event.