Auckland Artist Fiona Clarke Unveils Award-winning Mural In Te Atatu, Auckland

Auckland artist, Fiona Clarke, has unveiled her award-winning mural in Te Atatu, Auckland. The mural, titled ‘Our Planet’ is located on the side of 556 Te Atatu Road, in the heart of the Te Atatu community.

Fiona was one of ten winners from across the country who took out the top prize in Keep New Zealand Beautiful’s Resene Nature Murals Competition 2020.

The mural depicts the earth in a preserving jar ‘for safe keeping’. In her submission Fiona explained how the piece initially came about from a conversation with her kids. "We spoke about how our planet needs to be looked after and treasured and how great it would be to preserve its beauty. We need to stop waiting for someone else to fix things, each of us have a responsibility to make small changes to protect the Earth so that generations to come can still enjoy it.”

“I am so grateful for the opportunity to create this mural in my local community. During the process I had several in depth conversations about our planet, my hope is that the artwork will continue to provoke thought and conversation."

The Resene Nature Murals Competition, which is part of the Paint New Zealand Beautiful programme, ran from April to June 2020, with artists encouraged to submit mural designs which included an environmental message. Artists from around the country sent in their designs, with the top ten murals selected based on their environmental message, enhancement of the community, and originality/creativity.

Winning designs receive a $1000 grant upon completion, along with a $750 Resene paint voucher and other materials to paint their mural.

Keep New Zealand Beautiful CEO, Heather Saunderson, said: "This is the fourth year we have partnered with Resene to run our Nature Murals competition and we were absolutely amazed by both the quality and quantity of entries this year. Research has shown that the beautification of public spaces deters vandalism and anti-social behaviour such as littering and graffiti, and increases civic pride. We’re proud to partner with Resene again on this programme and we’re excited to see these murals come to life and beautify their little corners of New Zealand.”

The ten winning artists and regions are listed below, with their designs visible on the Keep New Zealand Beautiful website.

• Brigita Botma, Keep Our Home Clean NZ!, Auckland
• Corey Harbrow, Adventures of Lucky n’ Bobs, Christchurch
• Elise Grangier and James Mitchell, Mind the Balance, Wellington
• Fiona Clarke, Our Planet, Auckland
• Jil Sergent, Trouble in the Pegasus Basin, Hawke’s Bay
• Kelly McGinley, Kaitiakitanga o te Moana, Tauranga
• Kiran Parbhu, Power, Wellington
• Mark Noble, Care For The World, And It Shall Care For You, Rotorua
• Nest Arts Collective, In Our Hands, Rangiora
• Ngā Atua Hou, Mangonui Mural Project, Mangonui

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