Graffiato exhibition celebrates 10 years of Taupō street art

The exhibition Graffiato: Taupō Street Art Festival currently on at Taupō Museum celebrates New Zealand's longest-running street art festival. Photo / Supplied

Taupō Museum's newest exhibition is a colourful celebration of 10 years of Taupō's popular annual Graffiato Street Art Festival.

Graffiato: Taupō Street Art Festival celebrates New Zealand's longest-running street art festival, which first took place in Taupō in 2011. Featuring a collection of 13 artists from around New Zealand painting walls with graffiti and street art over Labour weekend, it was the first event of its kind in the country.

Over the years more than 120 murals have been created in the Taupō region, with over 70 individual artists participating. As a result Taupō now hosts the most comprehensive survey of street art in the country.

The life of Graffiato captures a period of time in which the world of graffiti, street art and mural painting has evolved noticeably. Artists have developed career pathways, walls are bigger, the art has become more diverse, the audience has become more educated and the artists and their practice has matured.

One of Taupō's striking Graffiato street artworks. Photo / Destination Great Lake Taupō

This exhibition celebrates the 10th anniversary through exploring Graffiato's origins, the developments within the world of street art and the artists who have contributed to the collection around Taupō.

Artists exhibiting include D-Side, Gwil Yelz, Erin Forsyth, City, Component, Enforce 1, Swift Mantis, Toby Jenkins, Benjamin Work, Margarita Vovna, Freak, Flox, Beck Wheeler and TrustMe. Many of the artists have another dimension to their practice as they make artwork in studios and regularly exhibit in galleries around the country. There will be artworks by the artists for sale.

Part of the exhibition includes an Artists in Action drawing competition, where children or art enthusiasts will be encouraged to create artworks in an interactive area. A selection will be chosen as the inspiration for the attending festival artist to recreate at the Artists in Action event on October 23, with their creators invited to attend and see their artwork come to life.

The 10-year celebration of Graffiato: Taupō Street Art Festival is a remarkable achievement, says festival curator Ross Liew.

Street artist Adore working on an artwork during Taupō's 2017 Graffiato street art festival. Photo / File

"It helps the audience build an understanding of the relationship between what the artists create inside versus what they create outside," says Ross.

Taupō Museum exhibitions officer Kerence Stephen says the museum is delighted to partner with the Towncentre Taupō and Graffiato teams to recognise the decade of street art in Taupō.

"The Graffiato event is a unique and fun part of our Taupō landscape and the museum is excited to host this exhibition in our galleries," she said.

The exhibition is on now in the museum's main gallery and runs until November 2.