I’ve seen a few murals in my time. I like the way as public art they stand out amongst their often separate surroundings.

Our Welcome Bay mural that sits proudly on the side of our community hall certainly does that. But our mural does a whole lot more than stand out as we drive or walk past.

A physical connection to the art

I think as a piece of community art it speaks about us as much as to us. I noticed this first when I observed the children from some of our local schools and kura who had turned up for the opening. The adults stood back and took the depth of the images which are startling, vibrant and demanding of your attention, whilst our youngsters ran to the wall, touched and physically connected to the wall with its 3 dimensional fish and stars.

The mural itself is beautifully  done  by Simone Anderson and her team of artists, including our local students, and reflects the varied aspects of our Welcome Bay community. The mural reflects us in all our beauty, our myths, our stories and collective spirit.

The spirit of the mural is expressed in the community every day

As I said at the time, community is partly our physical space (and there’s nothing like walking up Mauao to raise money and awareness for Tauranga Women’s Refuge to reinforce how unique and extraordinary our physical environment is) and partly our people, te tangata.

The strength of our community is a function of how connected we are with each other, how willing we are to do something beyond ourselves and our whanau for the greater good.

I see the spirit of the mural expressed in the community every day. Hundreds of often small acts of kindness, nearly always unheralded, all to make our place more connected and stronger. This should be celebrated and our wonderful mural does that wonderfully.

Calling ‘more art’, calling ‘more art’

Community art deserves our support. Often the last to be funded, yet first  to be breathtakingly acknowledged when finished. We should push for more public art around our community, perhaps we could fundraise to support our local schools to have their own public  mural.  There  is  real   power in visually display our diversity and community connectedness.

By Todd Muller, MP for Bay of Plenty

I write for this magazine because it’s important to stay connected to, and in communication with, our local communities