Ross Liew, Graffiato curator

Hanging art on pristine gallery walls has never appealed to Ross Liew.

Instead, the founding curator of Taupō’s annual Graffiato street art festival prefers to embellish the spaces that people might cut through to get to work, or visit in order to smoke a sneaky cigarette. He is drawn to carparks, skip bin storage spaces, narrow alleyways and the unkempt backsides of commercial buildings. And he hasn’t always asked permission to paint.

“What we were doing was illegal at time,” he says of the topical and sometimes politically-motivated guerrilla artworks he and fellow artists previously splashed across inner city walls. “But we wanted to contribute something to the community where we lived and worked. I still want that.”

Art with no limits

“I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of public space as a place to display art. Exhibitions in galleries and museums didn’t really make sense to me because you’re limiting your audience so much, you’re relying on people to walk in, instead of putting it on the street where thousands of people see it.”

Which is exactly the opportunity he offered fellow artists–with council permits and community approval secured—during his tenure at the helm of the long-running, game-changing Graffiato event.

In 2022, Ross and partner Margarita Vovna collaborated to create the ‘Wandering and Wondering’ artwork in an alleyway of Runanga Street. The piece, which features butterflies, flowers, a panther and a portrait, reflects on the joy of exploring a new city on foot.

Ross also curated the festival for 10 years, from its inception in 2011. In that that time, he helped to bring more than 120 murals to urban Taupō laneways and streets. It was the first event of its kind and continues to be the longest running street art festival in New Zealand.

Taupō out in front

There is no doubt the town’s streetscape has changed as a result. But he is adamant Graffiato has also figuratively changed the landscape for street artists, who run the gamut from professionally-trained, studio-based illustrators to those who cut their artistic teeth tagging train carriages.

“We deliberately set out to get the country’s widest possible representation of artists who make murals. Graffiato has increased visibility of the art and the artists who make it. It’s been a major platform, it’s actually made them visible. It’s absolutely launched careers and it’s grown the demand and the market for this kind of art.

“When we started, not a lot of people were able to make a living from this. Now, there’s a lot more artists able to do it.”

He says Taupō has shown other towns and regions what is possible in terms of commissioning artworks or committing to hosting similar events. “A lot of places have done it since but, as it stands, Taupō is the only one that’s been able to do it for this long. That’s quite remarkable and special. I am proud of that legacy.”

Art to make you think

Ross says the temporary art form—some works have faded with the elements or been replaced by a new building—serves a multitude of purposes. Whereas early Graffiato events primarily focussed on enhancing and beautifying the town’s neglected service lanes, later works tend to reflect the region’s identity. Others may promote and provoke discussion or present ideas.

He describes one mural that spells out ‘All that glitters’ on a the upper wall of car hire lot on Nukuhau Street. “It’s a huge piece that’s really visible, beautifully executed, in pleasing colour palette. It’s easy on the eye. But it’s a provocation. It’s making us think about the role of materialism in modern society. You have to finish the familiar phrase mentally.”

“In the beginning, a lot of artists came from the graffiti and street art tradition of self-promotion so it was about who they are and what they like to do. Now, most are thinking quite hard about what’s relevant to the place they’re in terms of the ecology, the environment, the history, the geography the social or built heritage. So we see a lot more stories about the people and the place.”

Artistic acts of rebellion

He says participating artists have free reign to design and execute a piece in any style, on any subject. One mural depicts a stylised scientific illustration of local fresh water fish species and several reference mana whenua or Māori origin stories from the Central Plateau region.

Back home in West Auckalnd, Ross continues to produce community and privately-commissioned art. He is a father or two, a former art teacher, a trained graphic designer with a master’s degree in fine art and design. He is also a former recipient of the Asia New Zealand Foundation artist residency grant at Rimbun Dahan private arts centre in Malaysia.

It was the axing of a part-time university job that provided his major career break. The redundancy payout allowed him to form a partnership with three friends who shared his interest in public art. The resulting Cut Collective leased a studio on Karangahape Road, collaborating on private or corporate commissions, using their earnings to help fund the public art projects they deemed worthy. Their legitimate community initiatives were interspersed with artistic acts of rebellion on back alley walls.

“Either way, we’d always ask ‘does what we’re doing contribute to our community in some way’.”

A lasting impact

Ross says his ongoing involvement with the Taupō community has certainly helped him, too. He delights in seeing locals and visitors walking through the town, art map in hand, searching for murals in previously undervalued places. And the festival has vastly extended his network of relationships and friendships with artists from New Zealand and overseas.

“Taupō is still pretty important to me now. I spent every Labour Weekend there for 10 years in a row, so I got to know it relatively well and I feel like I helped contribute something that has had a lasting, ongoing impact on the built environment.”

He says the places that Graffiato initially focussed on—service alleys, delivery areas, parking spaces—have become desirable walking routes and places people seek out for their high concentration of murals. “I still feel very connected to Taupō. I still visit and when I pass through, I smile.”

Ross recommends…

• Pauly’s Diner: They do amazing burgers and fries. This is the place to go at the end of day once all the hard work is done.
• The Storehouse: One of the first events we did, we used an empty mechanic’s workshop to host an exhibition. The second time, we found it had been tenanted by this café, which is great. It’s quite industrial. So I like to go there.
• The Merchant of Taupō/Scenic Cellars: It has an excellent selection of good beer and whiskies. I’ve always gone here to buy a nice bottle of whisky to enjoy over the event.
• Fast and Fresh Bakery: I usually go for the traditional steak and mushroom, that’s one of the rituals. But they’re producing very adventurous pies and they’ve won lots of awards.
• Quality Suites Huka Falls: I like to stay in different accommodation every year. This place was higher on the hill, spacious and quiet. Not that it’s noisy in Taupō. I liked the sense of space—I like my space because we have quite intense days and I work intensely with groups of people throughout the event.
• Favourite pools for kids: The AC baths are large, with plenty of slides and indoor/outdoor options. Also inexpensive.
• Favourite pools for adults: De Bretts.
• The skate park: It’s a good size and it’s a free activity.
• Replete: The owners are real supporters of the whole Graffiato event. They catered some of early events, for the artists. When Replete did the meals, I was sold. I always go there for food.