June marks a Midtown celebration of Street Culture with art, live music and food coming to the fore. Live painting, historic street art, city centre stories and more pay tribute to the urban experience on offer in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Proudly supported by Auckland Council and the city centre targeted rate.
Good News For You spaces:
Louie Brooks Signs. Shop 9, 6-8pm
A resident lettering and sign artist at the Strand Arcade, Louie will be working the glass front of his studio space equipped with paint, brushes and a steady hand.
Episode - Vintage Store. Shop 18, 5-8pm
Owners Rachel and Vincent’s motto is “selling vintage to buy vintage.” What they wear is what they want to sell. Through Episode, they get to introduce their style and share their knowledge in archive fashion. Episode’s style is more classic and individual, linking up with their creations in their own label, VINCENTIMENTA. They stock labels from Korea, Japan and Europe.
Panda Rose - Art and Play. Shop 21, 5-8pm
The Art and Play project presents the creativity in children’s (free) play in order to advocate for the importance of process rather than product in children’s activities.
This project transforms the space into an eye-catching celebration of play to use it as a space for play opportunities that are process focused as well as visually interesting to passersby.
Auckland Festival of Photography - The Common Room Residency. Shop 10, 5-8pm.
A display of work by the resident artists taking part in this Auckland Festival of Photography initiative.
Auckland Festival of Photography Group Exhibition. Shop 21, 5-8pm.
An exhibition of photography presented by the Auckland Festival of Photography.
The Strand Arcade Window Gallery by Jamie McCready.
A larger-than-life display of the work of photographer Jaime McCready.
DJ Grantis. TheStrand Arcade, 5-8pm.
Strand Arcade hosts DJ Grantis. Grant Apiata, aka DJ Grantis, was raised in the winterless north in a little place called Matauri Bay. Now residing in Tāmaki Makaurau, Grantis is one of the founding members of the Māori HiFi artist collective. You can find him every week on his Base FM radio show, Afternoon Delight, as well as residencies at Ponsonby Social and Shy Guy.
Auckland Zinefest, 5-8pm.
Celebrating the zine landscape! Auckland Zine Festival pops up with a workshop where you can create and take home creative pieces, plus they’ll be selling zines and artworks.
Don’t forget to check out The Strand Arcade gems:
Dip into the multi-cultural hospitality offerings of Tāmaki Makaurau with food and drink from Addis Cafe and Hi Toastie.
Markets at the Midtown Street Party:
M & A Streetwear
Creating Fashion Art streetwear since 2021. Custom printed t-shirts all handmade in NZ. A huge array of fun original prints for the whole family.
Thrifted NZ
Vintage collectibles, and NZ streetwear labels. A mix of labels and NZ kiwi classics from Swandri’s to upcycled fashion.
Outside the Strand Arcade:
Live Art on Elliott Street, 5-8pm
Catch live street painting by Reks as it unfolds on Elliot St between 5 and 8pm.
Beth Britten Duo. Elliott Stables
Bringing live jazz to the Elliot Stables, Beth Britten is a jazz bassist and vocalist who will be performing jazz standards, as well as some original compositions, with saxophonist Charlotte Barrand.
DJ Little Bok Choy. Atrium on Elliott, 5 - 6.30pm
Listeners never know what to expect when Little Bok Choy (aka Eva) takes the decks. An Auckland-based DJ and artist, they redefine the dance floor with a fresh twist on nostalgic sounds. Seamlessly blending diverse genres, Eva’s boundary-pushing sets radiate infectious energy and feel-good grooves. From deep, heavy percussion and bass beats to catchy melodies, Little Bok Choy delivers a modern edge to timeless vibes, ensuring every party is alive and thriving.
DJ Caru. 6.30 - 8pm
Carl Ruwhiu is a Māori music producer who is releases music under the name Caru and is active in bringing the street culture alive in Tāmaki Makaurau.
They have recently collaborated on a new EP titled "Back 2 Back," which blends UK garage sounds with Brandn's Aotearoa-influenced flows and slang. The EP explores their dynamic producer-MC dynamic and showcases their unique sound.
Venture further afield and check out street art at:
Discover a hidden nook of art and history in the CBD. This little-known location hosts artwork created across the last 35 years. Standing in one spot you can take in the city’s oldest piece of graffiti culture, a mid-1990’s view on Place and a contemporary consideration of what our feet stand on when in the central city.
Opto and Dick Clique (Otis Frizzellv and Dick Frizzell): Queen Street City Beat. Mural, 1986.
In 1986, a 15 year old Otis Frizzell recruited his father as free labour to help him with this historic graffiti mural painted in the city centre’s Durham Lane. Otis recalls the Council of the time wanted to brighten up the inner city and he somehow ended up being commissioned to create the mural.
The only real graffiti art reference available at the time was the movie Beat Street, so he wrote ‘QUEEN STREET CITY BEAT; and the mural depicted a characterization of Queen Street at the time featuring particular recognisable buildings including the Classic Cinema, Town Hall, Keans Jeans, the neon cowboy and McDonalds.
John Radford. Lane Change. Mural. 1995.
…that was then, and this was then… Sculpture. 1995
Holly Mafaufau. Tāmaki Makaurau. 2024
Holly Mafaufau is an artist and designer whose more recent focus has been on creating public artworks that combine the influences of graffiti, typography and signwriting. Holly’s work is primarily focused around words and letters and communication through written language. She enjoys the conceptual, problem-solving aspect of design and takes a similar approach to the walls she paints — words are weapons, and public walls are an opportunity to speak to people. She has a huge appreciation for traditional sign-painting methods but enjoys using the materials and digital technology now more commonly used in signwriting to create her work as well.
This artwork in Durham Lane acknowledges the historic bodies of water of the area and their importance in the provision of kai. It was created with the intention to soften a hard urban space while contributing to the collection of existing artworks in this space.
Exciting new art works have transformed the Airedale Street steps, a popular thoroughfare between AUT and Queen St. A mural painting has been created by artist Poi Ngawati (Waikato Tainui, Ngati Patupo, Ngati Whawhaki, Ngati Mahuta, Ngapuhi, Ngati Hine).
Titled ‘Te Huinga Tai - The gathering of tides’, this vibrant piece of street art talks about the meeting of tides from all around the world depicted via a modern Māori stylised ‘Puhoro’ design.
Accompanying the mural is a new collaborative light work created by Poi Ngawati and Angus Muir Design to complete the transformation of this space.
'Te Huinga Tai - The gathering of tides’
The artwork talks about the meeting of tides from all around the world depicted via a modern Māori stylised ‘Puhoro’ design. Traditionally the Puhoro is a representation of whirlpools, speed, flow and natural currents of water and can be found under the Waka Taua (traditional Māori canoe).
The north facing walls feature shades of violet purple and the south facing walls shades of teal. This colour combination talks to day and night, light and dark, and how the water continues to flow regardless. The incorporation of colour gradients relates to the many different cultures within Tāmaki Makaurau. The Puhoro design features five layers which depict five key values; people first, pursue excellence, embrace change, act with integrity and to serve our world.
A collaborative light artwork between Poi Ngawati and Angus Muir sits above the mural, enriching the space and contributing to the mural with designs reflecting the relationship between the nine stars of Matariki and the many tides that meet underneath them. It speaks to the connection between the stars, ocean, and iwi guiding our journeys and shaping our stories. The flowing forms represent rain, linking Ranginui and Papatūānuku, while the surrounding buildings frame the work, grounding it in the space. By day, it moves with the environment; by night, it connects to the stars above.
Artists: Poi Ngawati aka Techs, (Waikato Tainui, Ngati Patupo, Ngati Whawhaki, Ngati Mahuta, Ngapuhi, Ngati Hine) and Angus Muir.
