Community Arts Projects

COMMUNITY ARTS PROJECTS

We provide opportunities for Nelsonians’ creativity to be visible across the region.

Colour Me Nelson - A Colouring In Competition

and Collaborative Community Mural

Project for Bridge Street Nelson.

Hiwa (formerly Arts Council Nelson) and Make/Shift Spaces are partnering on the creation of a collaborative community mural to be painted on the hoardings between Bridge Street and Wakatū Square.

We thought we would take a different approach on this project and decided to run a ‘colouring in’ competition to decide the look of the final mural image.

The winning entrant will receive a $50 prezzie card and two runner-up entrants will each receive a $25 prezzie card. Entries may be in any medium and must be received by 4pm on Wednesday 21st October 2026

Stage One: Colouring in Competition

We have come up with a fun design and are now asking you to help by making it come to life with colour! Simply download the entry form image below and fill the design with as few or as many colours as you choose then get it to us with your name and contact details. A digital copy of your image may be sent to lloyd@acn.org.nz , alternatively, hard copies may be dropped into the reception desk at Tāwera 77, Trafalgar Street.

From the entries we receive, we shall select one coloured design to determine the look of the finished mural. The selected entry + the two runner-up prize winners will be contacted before the end of October and shall appear on this site.

Please read the terms and conditions for more details.

Stage two: Join us to complete the mural using a ‘paint by numbers’ technique.

The line design will then be drawn onto the panels to create a large 2.4 x 4.8 metre mural with the different sections numbered to match the colours of the winning entry to create a ‘paint by numbers’ opportunity for anyone who may wish to volunteer to help fill the gaps with colours to complete the mural alongside our lead artist later this year. You may choose to join stage two whether you were involved with stage 1 or not, everyone will be welcomed, although children under 14 years must be accompanied by an adult. This is a free community event with all materials and equipment supplied. Painting dates will appear in our newsletter, website and social media platforms and through local papers.

Colour Me Nelson Terms & Conditions

Eligibility : Open to all Nelson and Tasman residents of any age….

Entries: May be in any medium and must be received by 4pm on Wednesday 21st October 2026. You may enter as many times as you wish. We shall advise on dates for painting the mural in our November e-newsletter and website and FB posts.

Selection: The selectors decision will be final and no discussions will be entered into.

Usage: Entries will be used for the sole purpose of this competition and will not be used for any promotional purposes. However, organisers reserve the usage rights of the winning entry for informing the mural and for promotional purposes of this project. The artist will be acknowledged where images may appear in any public platform and alongside the physical mural.

Digital Entries: Ideally, entries will be sent by email attachment (preferably less than 2mbs). If you are emailing an image on behalf of an artist, please ensure that the name of the artist is included in your message.

Hard Copy Entries: Hard copy entries may be enlarged to A3 size if preferred. Please ensure that your name and contact phone number is clearly marked on the back of your entry. Hard copy entries will not be returned, so if you are keen to hold onto your original, please supply us with a colour photocopy of the work for the selection process.

Unselected digital entries will be deleted after the selection process, and no private information will be kept on file. (You may, of course, request that your contact details to be added to our mailing list for future arts news and opportunities should you wish).

If and as required, Hiwa reserves the right to make any minor changes or tweaks to the final image as it sees fit. In the unlikely event that no entries are deemed appropriate Hiwa shall select a winner and runners-up and present prizes, but may refrain from using any entries and utilize another option to decide the final colour scheme.

Do not hesitate to contact lloyd@acn.org.nz if you have any queries regarding this community project.

DOWNLOAD ENTRY FORM & IMAGE

My Fancy Car

Children’s Public Mural Project

We asked children under 12 years of age to create an image of what their ‘Fancy Car’ would look like and send them to us to be considered for inclusion in an exciting new public mural for Nelson.

Here is what our fabulous young artists came up with….

This project is presented by Arts Council Nelson in partnership with Make/Shift Spaces with assistance from Nelson City Creative Communities, Bowater Motor Group and Network Tasman Ltd.

Go Gecko - Collaborative

Community Public Art Project

Hiwa (Arts Council Nelson)

These large wall-mounted mosaic artworks are comprised of bisque fired clay on marine ply created by the Nelson community and visitors to ‘Potters Square’ during Nelson Clay Week 2024.

Nelson Clay Week [NCW] is a nine-day festival presented by Hiwa (formerly Arts Council Nelson) celebrating everything ‘clay’ and its relevance to Whakatū. As part of NCW, 1903 Square at the top of Trafalgar St becomes a ‘Potters Square’ with a ‘pottery studio’ complete with throwing wheels, ‘hand building’ tables, special events and heaps of clay.

The public were invited to engage by getting their hands into clay. In 2024, people of all ages joined in the creative process by making over 500 reptilians that are now part of these collaborative public artworks.

Hiwa extends huge thanks to everyone that came on board to have fun and are thrilled to offer another opportunity to create more artworks this year. Thanks also to our collaborative partner Makeshift Spaces and to the Thompson Property Group for enabling the siting of this installation.

AND WE’RE DOING IT ALL AGAIN ……GET INVOLVED WTH NELSON CLAY WEEK 2026 Come to Potters Square at the top of Trafalgar St in Nelson between 3rd – 9th October to help us create creatures which will form new public artworks that will be donated to and sited at Natureland Zoo and The Brook Waimarama Sanctuary. No previous experience required. Friendly team to help. All free and for a great cause.

SEEKING MORE PERMANANT HOMES FOR THESE WORKS……

These works are temporarily installed in central Nelson, but will need news sites in a few months time. We would be happy for these to be separated or installed as a group. If you have a public wall and may be interested in siting these (at out cost) and/or would like to discuss any further details, please contact Lloyd by email at: lloyd@acn.org.nz or call on 027 326 6166.