I want to bring a little rainy-day art from my previous home in Washington State/British Columbia to my new home in Whangarei. Rainworks is a Seattle based company that makes biodegradable and affordable art that only appears when it rains. These positive messages and images are meant to be uplifting, whimsical, or just fun. (Please check out the website.)

I would like to hold a contest with the local youth in cooperation with the Te Kowhai Print Trust to come up with approximately 3 graphic images (with or without text) in addition to 4 local artist contributions that would be turned into stencils at the Print Trust for placement in a total of 7 downtown and town basin locations. Decisions for the final product would be decided by consensus of three local community members. (Myself, a print trust representative, and member of 116 bank street collective.) All images and locations will obviously need to be approved by the council.

As the Northern hemisphere gets progressively less rain and we get more, this can become an enjoyable way to remember to smile on a rainy day and engage in our community through the winter and spingtime months. It can be a positive way to engage youth, get their interest in the community and the Print Trust and have them contribute in a meaningful way they can show their friends. It also encourages people to linger outside....even in the rain.

Dates (proposed):
Contest would open in late May and conclude in late June.
Final products announced for Matariki Festival!
Stencils would be made in the following weeks.
Installation completed by the end of July (with a recorded reveal with the artists! and links sent to rainworks so we can join their map!)

Installation will biodegrade naturally within 2-4 months.
(I will clean whatever has not gone by then.)

Please contact me with any questions.