Seven artists, six walls, three days. BOON Street Art Festival is back for 2021 from March 5th-7th, celebrating Mana Wāhine with an all-female line-up that's all Aotearoa.
Waking up the city’s north end walls with a vibrant dose of colour, is the ultimate curation of homegrown talent from Wellington, Auckland, and Hamilton - Xoë Hall, Erin Forsyth, Gina Kiel, Gembol, Pounamu Wharekawa, Abigail Aroha Jensen, and Rachel Kiddie McClure.
The free, public festival, in its 6th year of operation, is responsible for the bright pockets that make Hamilton a city to be proud of, and for 3 days provides an opportunity to witness high-quality creation and transformation at its finest.
Street Art has the power to transform and uplift spaces,’ says BOON Street Art Festival Director, Craig McClure, ‘and it's great to be working mostly locally this year.’
‘We’re very excited to give some love - some big visual art love, to the north end of Hamilton around Liverpool Street.’
Taking things up a notch, this year’s BOON Street Art have invited GRRRL Fest, a multi-media arts festival celebrating female and non-gender-conforming talent, to host a live music stage from 12-6pm, Saturday 6th March as part of the Liverpool Street festival hub.
Not only will the hub feature epic local singers and bands, but there’ll be VIP tours, and a high vibe atmosphere where Craig say’s you’ll be able to ‘meet the artists, see them in their element & even buy some merch’
With temporary exhibitions happening in local favourite venues, festival maps with artist and event locations will be available, so people of all ages can find the action and fully immerse themselves in the BOON experience.
BOON is made possible by its generous volunteers, community support, and sponsorship from local, independent businesses who Craig says, ‘get what we do and want to help make it happen.’
‘This year we are very happy to welcome Mr Pickles and Wonder Horse Bar to the Boon family,’ Says Craig, ‘with a special thanks to the ongoing support of CRAFT and Gothenburg, Resene Paints, Hamilton City Council, and Foster Construction, as well as Beca, Chow Hill, CBD Events, and Total Access and community funders, WEL Energy Trust and Trust Waikato.’
Artist profiles, event announcements, maps, shoutouts and competitions will be posted online through @boonstreetart and boonstreetart.co.nz, so stay tuned for all the juicy details and block out your calendars for an epic weekend celebrating community, street art, and Mana Wāhine.
Image: Artist Erika Pearce, delivering a dose of female power to the YWCA at BOON Street Art Festival 2020.
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