The heart of the city will look a little different this week as we welcome the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ to Ōtepoti Dunedin. 
 

As well as flags and bunting, a range of projects have been planned for the Octagon.

From 20-25 July, six talented artists will paint a street mural outside the Municipal Chambers. The mural, featuring the poem Intuit by local poet Iona Winter, will be painted by Kelly Spencer (Kell Sunshine), Aroha Novak, Devon Smith and the Dreamgirls Art Collective (Xoe Hall, Miriama Grace-Smith and Gina Kiel).

From 5pm till late on the days the FIFA Fan Festival™ is open, there will be a special projection mapping project on St Paul’s Cathedral from Storybox NZ, with designs by artists Devon Smith, Becca O.Shea, Kimi Moana Whiting and Josie Mason.

Four lightboxes (with designs from visual artist Ephraim Russell) will feature photography and biographies of four local women connected to football, including Football Fern Annalie Longo, representative player Hannah Langsbury, sports photographer Clare Toia-Bailey, and player Zara Pratley, who starred in Dunedin’s bid video to host the tournament in 2020.

“In line with FIFA's Beyond Greatness™ campaign to inspire future female football talent, we’re shining the spotlight on some of Aotearoa’s own talented women,” says Dunedin City Council Team Leader - Events Dan Hendra.

“As well as these special projects, we’re bringing a stellar line-up of female musicians to the FIFA Fan Festival™ where we will also host the EQUALIZE programme by NZ Story, which is a series of talks featuring trailblazing women.”

A second mural will be painted on Anzac Ave on Sunday 30 July by street artist Graeme Hoete, also known as Mr G.

The Octagon projects will be in place till the end of the tournament in Dunedin.

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