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Don’t miss the Kiwi Art Trail 2023!

17 Oct 2023

Kiwi have returned to Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland! From 9th October – 3rd November, 20 amazing New Zealand artists are giving kiwi their colour back.

The 2023 Kiwi Art Trail brings a collection of uniquely designed and painted kiwi sculptures to downtown Auckland, creating a free, family-friendly public art trail for all to enjoy around Commercial Bay, the Viaduct, Wynyard Quarter, and Silo Park.

Featuring 20 kiwi sculptures that have been turned into bespoke pieces of art by well-known and emerging New Zealand artists (including one lucky school student) using Resene paints and colours, this unique art trail will tell the story of these special manu and what all New Zealanders can do to help support and protect this taonga species.

Brought to you by Save the Kiwi and Gallagher, the Kiwi Art Trail is designed to raise awareness about the plight of the kiwi and what every day New Zealanders can do to help.

When the trail ends, the sculptures will be auctioned. Proceeds will go towards raising the next generation of kiwi at the Gallagher Kiwi Burrow, a facility managed by Save the Kiwi that incubates and hatches kiwi chicks and releases them into the wild. 

Jessica Pearless is one of the artists on the Kiwi Art Trail. Her sculpture, Geometric Kiwi, features a Resene Duck Egg Blue basecoat and is feathered with geometric shapes and metallic pigments in a variety of colours from the Karen Walker Paints collection. Geometric Kiwi is located on Queens Wharf, close to the ferry building. 

"I think it’s super important at the moment for us to consider the environment – more so than ever in terms of endangered species and what we can do to protect and conserve them – and this seemed like a really worthy cause to be involved with,” Jessica says. “I’ve been involved in a number of other fun charity projects like this that have raised money for great causes. In a lot of ways, an art trail like this breaks down accessibility to art. It’s great to use art and artists as a vehicle to promote and publicise the hard work that’s being done to protect the kiwi." 

For the Trail Map click here.

For a glimpse of the colourful kiwis and to read about the artists click here.

Be sure to make a day of it with the family and visit the kiwi before November 3rd!

Published: 17 Oct 2023