A giant mural taking shape in Kaikohe will brighten the town and give young people a creative outlet apart from graffiti, the project's backers say.
Covering a wall about 20m long at the top end of Broadway, the Lions Club project depicts Kaikohe icons including the Hone Heke Memorial, Aperahama Church,
the carved gateway at Memorial Hill, Lake Omapere, the Pioneer Village and the town's historic plough.
The mural is expected to be finished today. The base coat and outlines were painted with rollers on Friday and the details added using spray cans in the past four days.
Jarram Harry, 16, of Kaikohe Christian School, said the idea was to make Kaikohe a brighter place and to deter tagging.
"It's been mean fun, but it's hard work. We've been here from 8 in the morning to 6 at night. I just love the feeling of a spray can in my hand and I like to do it legally," he said.
Kaikohe Lions Club member Charlotte Hohepa said the project had been two years in the making. The mural had been designed by Auckland graffiti artist Josh Paki, who was also directing the painters.
Mrs Hohepa said Josh had been coming, without charge, to the club's youth camps for the past two years to teach young folk how to turn graffiti into legal artwork.
The idea was to give the rangatahi (youth) of Kaikohe something constructive to do and discourage vandalism.
"I'm hoping it will turn them to doing something productive, rather than tagging. There's not many outlets for their creativity."
Three schools - Kaikohe Christian School, Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Kaikohe and Northland College - had been asked to nominate a student to take part.
The $6900 project was paid for by a $2500 grant and Lions Club fundraising.
The mural would be sealed so any tagging could be easily removed.
The building's owner had given his blessing to the project, and other business owners were now showing an interest in putting the artists to work, Mrs Hohepa said.
