Bomb the bins... with paint

22 Dec 2016

Why should rubbish bins be plain when they can be transformed into works of art? Creative Bay of Plenty took on a project to smarten up the rubbish bins along Willow St in central Tauranga as part of a wider revitalisation plan. They put out a call for artists to work with the theme of 'nature' (tying in with the name of Willow St)... and Bomb The Bins was created. Over a weekend, seven artists painted designs on the lids of the bins, using Resene paints and products. As you can imagine, the feedback from the public has been extremely positive. 

Resene Vinyl Etch was used on the bins to provide a key, then a selection of Resene testpots was used for the artwork. The bin lids were then overcoated in Resene Uracryl GraffitiShield to protect the artworks. 

Watch out Tauranga - there are plans afoot to artistically bomb other objects in the CBD.

Main photograph: Millie Newitt working on a bin. She is the past gallery curator at Creative Bay of Plenty and the brains behind the Bomb the Bins project. 

Tara Fowler, a graphic designer at DownTown Tauranga and co-creator of the Bomb the Bins project.

A design by henna artist Tayla Joy Rapira who works at the Little Big Markets.

Sapphire and Skye Redwood (aged 10 and 8) from Matua Primary School with their mum Viv Quinn, who is the arts and funding administrator at Creative Bay of Plenty.

Photographs by Dane Scott. 

Published: 22 Dec 2016