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Catch 'Masters of the Muralverse' on TVNZ

14 Feb 2023

A new series has launched this week on TVNZ+ on HEIHEI featuring young artists rising to the challenge of creating public art for their communities. Combining art, design, animation, teamwork, and Resene paints and colours, Masters of the Muralverse sees teams of young artists work together to create epic murals in their hometowns.  

The simple pitch is that it’s Grand Designs but with murals, and 12-year-old artists.

Across the six episodes, brand new murals are created for a variety of communities, all designed and painted by artists aged 11-13 years old.  Mentored by a professional mural artist, Feilding based Joe McMenamin, our young artists work together to create concepts and pitch their ideas to a panel.

Ideas are brought to life with animation, but only one design can be chosen for each site. Once one idea is selected all of the talented young artists work together to get the mural on the wall.

It’s not always smooth sailing. Wet weather and huge walls are a challenge for some sites and juggling the needs of the community and artistic ambitions of the artists have to be factored in. But with the threat of a looming deadline, the artists band together to create incredible works of art. Each episode ends with a grand reveal of the mural to friends and whānau.

Joe McMenamin, a professional mural artist and educator based in the Manawatū, provides mentorship and advice to the young artists. Joe also provides some clever mural tips to the audience – along with special guest artists who appear in each episode. Joe helps the artists and guides them through the design process, but he knows he’s there to amplify their artistic voice.

“The challenge in making this show was allowing the audience to get inside the heads of our young artists as they were coming up with their ideas,” says Producer Bevin Linkhorn.

“During the pitch section of the show we’ve taken the artists’ designs and animated them to give them life.”

“Our wonderful narrator, Carrie Green, also gets to give voice to some of the characters in the artists’ designs. This means the audience watching gets a much better understanding of what each of our artists are aiming for in their designs and storytelling. It also surprised the artists themselves! We took the completed episodes back to their schools and they were delighted by the animation of their designs.”

 

The talented young artists with their array of Resene paints and products, with artist mentor Joe McMenamin.

Schools and communities that feature in this series are from across the lower North Island. Three schools are based in Wellington – Hataitai School, Kahurangi School and Evans Bay Intermediate. Two schools are based in the Hutt Valley – Hutt Intermediate and Wā Ora Montessori School. The series also features an episode at Oroua Downs School, a small rural school in the Manawatū. Artists chosen were recommend by the art teachers and principals at each of the schools for their artistic ability.

The series helps to demystify the design process. A blank wall in a community is presented to the artists, but before ideas can be developed all of the artists need to consult with others in the community. This involves surveying their schools, posting questions on community social media pages, and asking people on the street their views on what could make a great mural. Once all of the feedback is gathered they start to brainstorm ideas, getting drawings down on paper. 

Working in pairs they hone their concepts until they’re happy with a concept to pitch. Even though only one design gets chosen for each mural, all the artists work together to make the mural a reality.

They pick their paint colours tinted into Resene Lumbersider, mix them together, battle wet weather, navigate ladders and get the design up on the wall in time for a grand reveal to their community. Some of the colours being used are Resene Witch Hazel, Resene Turbo, Resene Good Morning, Resene Picton Blue, Resene Hero and Resene Westwood.

Mentor to the artists, Joe McMenamin.

“I’m really proud that we’ve created such a fun show that documents the creative process,” says Producer Bevin Linkhorn. “The format of the show provides a recipe for how new art can be created.”

“We worked with six teams of very talented artists who shared their unique ideas and talents with us. I’m really proud of the murals they all created, and their communities have been so impressed by the final results.” 

With art tips, teamwork and the challenge of creating huge murals on display, Masters of the Muralverse can help to inspire other young artists to create new murals for their schools and communities.

Masters of the Muralverse is produced by Good Times Company and filmed on location at six different communities in the lower North Island. The concept was created by Bevin Linkhorn, who has also created and produced Extreme Cake Sports and Operation Hero. The series was commissioned by TVNZ HEIHEI with funding from NZ On Air.

Tune in to watch the show now on TVNZ+: Masters of the Muralverse

Published: 14 Feb 2023