Mural for Newtown School and Community!

Newtown School will soon complete a rebuild of its entire school which was demolished in 2012 (it was deemed to be unsafe in an earthquake). After 6 years of teaching in temporary classrooms with limited playing space we now have the opportunity to revitalize the school environment for the benefit of our tamariki and the wider Newtown community. One of the ways in which we intend to do this is through the addition of publicly accessible permanent artworks that connect the school to its diverse and vibrant community.

We are very excited to have commissioned the first of these artworks, being a mural “Kamala with Hihi” (working title) by local artist Michel Tuffery MNZM in collaboration with graphic artist Charles Williams. Both artists have strong ties to the local community and we were inspired by their understanding of the connections between the school, our cultural history and the local community. In their proposal they say:

“Our mural thematically brings forward elements iconic to Newtown as an inner city suburb which has contributed to the deep history and wider culture of Te Whanganui a Tara. At the core of this is the engaging role Newtown School provides as it nurtures and inspires our tamariki, and equally a diverse and vibrant community. …The colours and simplified motifs weave the kaupapa of history, community, culture and environment, they are united colours that will accentuate school campus. Of prominence is the figurative form of Kamala (elephant, F, 1931-1983) and our Hihi native bird an acknowledgement symbolically to the Tangata Whenua and our habitats. Kamala was a gift to New Zealand's children from the All India Women's Conference, in appreciation of the work done by aid organisation Corso, Kamala was world famous in Wellington Zoo, adored by many.”

We are now fundraising for this mural and other artworks and would love your support with this as these projects are not covered by the Ministry of Education.