Paradox: Tauranga Street Art Festival
“Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.”
― Banksy
The streets of Tauranga’s city centre have been a bit more bustling than usual. At first I thought it must be the end of summer, resulting in a need to savour the last of the warm, lazy days. Then, I passed the Tauranga Art Gallery and realised that all the restlessness, curiosity and excitment was centered around the launch of the Paradox: Tauranga Street Art Festival. And of course it would be, if you measure the excitement levels when the Bay of Plenty Times and other publications disputed the presence of Banksy in the city. Take one look at some of its gorgeous murals, and it becomes obvious that the city has a fondness for street art.
Organised by Tauranga City Council in partnership with Oi YOU! and Tauranga Art Gallery, Paradox is breaking new ground in this part of the world with the Tauranga Art Gallery being the first major municipal art gallery in the Southern Hemisphere that has been given over entirely to street art.
Paradox Inside Exhibition
Paradox launched on 28 March and will be open to the public for 12 weeks. The free exhibition on display at the Tauranga Art Gallery, includes a total of 22 works by Banksy, as well as 13 murals and street installations created by internationally-accalimed street artists and a virtual reality installation.
The gallery space has been transformed to create a truly authentic street art experience and succeeds in communicating the city’s metamorphosis of a small, old city into the vibrant new hub for businesses and youg creatives that it is quickly becoming.
Street art festival
The exhibition is the centrepiece of the 12-week festival, featuring not only the extensive Oi YOU! street art collection and works within the gallery, but also seven major city centre walls transformed by some of the world’s most well-known street artists. Accompanied by an extensive events programme, the festival is the first of its kind in Tauranga.
Paradox Live & Local, the festival’s events programme, will provide residents and visitors with a chance to have a ‘hands on’ street art experience. See www.taurangastreetartfestival.
