The Dawson Road community of Otara owns a new mural. Led by the Manukau City Council through the Fresh Gallery Otara, the Dawson Road Mural Project is an initiative intended to encourage community ownership of public art. It began in the form of a video produced by Janet Lilo with interviews of park and library users. Several themes emerged from the video including youth culture, bold vibrant colours, Pacific and Maori patterns, strong local features and an homage to Michael Jackson. These informed the design of the mural which was developed in-house at Fresh Gallery Otara by Nicole Lim and Ema Tavola. Three local artists, Samiu Napa’a, Sangeeta Singh, and Luisa Tora worked for two days alongside a dozen volunteers to complete the three-walled mural. Wall 1 acknowledges the location of Dawson Park in the flight path of Auckland International Airport and the classic limited edition ‘Otara’ Chuck Taylor Converse All Stars made in 2005. Wall 2 acknowledges the 2009 passing of Michael Jackson, the undisputed King of Pop, a model of creative and musical excellence with intergenerational, global and multicultural appeal, embedded in an arrangement of Pacific island flora. Wall 3 acknowledges Dawson Road and its youthful local community. The figures are derived from South Style, a photographic project that documents the style and conviction of South Auckland young people. The Dawson Road Mural Project is a collaboration between Manukau Arts, Libraries, Parks, the Manukau Beautification Trust, and the Otara community.
(Image from the Dawson Road Mural Project blog)
