Graffiti gone

From City Scene, published on 7 October, 2007

Kaumatua George Taipari (left), with Otahuhu Town manager Graham Mullins recently blessed the mural on the corner of Great South Road and Park Avenue.

Graffiti gone! - Kaumatua George Taipari (left), with Otahuhu Town manager Graham Mullins recently blessed the mural on the corner of Great South Road and Park Avenue.

Auckland City Council and the Otahuhu Mainstreet and Commercial Association have funded two murals, on Great South Road and Park Avenue, to help deter graffiti in Otahuhu. Kaumatua George Taipari (pictured above, left, with Otahuhu Town manager Graham Mullins) recently blessed the mural on the corner of Great South Road and Park Avenue. Both sites had regularly attracted graffiti vandalism and are now graffiti free. Artist Louis Statham painted the murals and based them on historical photographs of the area. A Tamaki Community Board-funded mural painted in Criterion Square two years ago has also successfully deterred graffiti and more murals are planned for the area. The project is a part of the council's wider initiatives to invest in local artists, support community projects and form partnerships with local businesses to tackle graffiti.