Public input will be invited for the next stage of Hastings mural

A new mural on the wall of Big Save Furniture in Heretaunga Street Hastings has received its final hand prints.

The 30 metre long mural was begun during “Paint New Zealand Beautiful” week in March and has now had the finishing touches put to it by the public.

Hundreds of people have taken part in completing the mural, by dipping their hands into paint and creating pohutukawa trees, grape vines on the wall which also features a gannet, tui’s and pukeko’s.

The outline of the mural was sketched by local artist Sally Dunford, who has had people stopping by wanting to ‘put their hands up’ while she completed the painting.

Deputy Mayor Cynthia Bowers says “the wall was so big, that only half could be painted during this part of the project and the rest will be done at the start of next summer”.

”A competition will be run during August, in association with ‘Keep New Zealand Beautiful’ week, which will allow the public to come up with a theme to aid in the design of the second part of the mural” says Cr Bowers.

The creation of the second mural will also be a community event, with people putting their handprint up for a beautiful Hastings. Cr Bowers says “the new theme could complement the just completed mural or be something completely different, with the two parts separated by a border”.

The completed mural will be covered in an anti graffiti coating, which will ensure it can be kept in pristine condition and be a valuable addition to the cities artwork.