Magic carpet rolled out for Whanganui town centre rejuvenation

Artist Dan Mills was commissioned to paint a rug on the alleyway between George's Fisheries and Embassy 3 on Victoria Ave as part of the Town Centre Regeneration.

A stroll through one of Whanganui's city alleyways has turned into a magic carpet ride as the town centre rejuvenation rolls on.

The alley between George's Fisheries and Embassy 3 on Victoria Ave has been painted by
artist Dan Mills to resemble a rug laid along the floor, with the drainpipes also getting a touch up.

It is the first of several alleyways due to get an artistic makeover and something Town Centre Regeneration project manager Ellen Young said was a cheap way to liven up the city centre.

"I've just always loved our alleyways and wanted to do something with them," she said.

"We wanted to make it so you can walk down our street and see some really crazy stuff that you wouldn't see in other towns."

Young said the alleyway was already being used more which showed how art could work as a drawcard.

"We've just has epic feedback, everyone loves it. It'll become a talking point."

She wanted the work - which local artist Dan Mills was commissioned to do - to reference the area surrounding the alley which inspired the fish in the rug and the pools of water which run out of the drainpipes onto the carpet.

The art has already brought more people into the walk-through alleyway.

The alleyways were part of the larger central city arts and history walk aimed to increase foot traffic through the city, she said.

Mills is the artist behind the 3D pedestrian crossing and other public artwork on Rangiora St in Castlecliff.

He said the patterns he used for the carpet were based on the mathematical imagery attributed to Benoit Mandelbrot, who created repeating geometric patterns called 'fractals'.