Messages via Twitter from Askew, one of the artists behind the Poynton Tce mural that Auckland Council painted over...
"Just an update. Poyten tce tenant and I let landlord know we just want to return things to how they were before, no council involvement...
Unfortunately the landlords have been convinced they need to let Rob Shields manage the wall despite the official council line.
Poynten Tce Update: If I want to redo it now I have to submit a design for selection alongside other artists Rob Shields has selected. WTF?
I painted and maintained that wall for 10 years free of charge with no complaint. Now the situation is being rectified but...for the landlords and not the artists. You see how Council are missing the point entirely? They don't understand or respect art.
If the landlords had paid for the last mural I could understand them being compensated but we are the ones that did it out of our own pocket."
So, it would appear that Mayor Len Brown has no control over his own staff.
Mayor Brown responded via Twitter "Council met with owner & tenant. We wont choose design - in the end it's up to owner what goes on their wall". So either Brown is getting misinformation from his staff, or he's being economical with the truth.
ADDED Friday 11 March. Askew has written about all of this on his blog. Go have a read. It's grim reading.
Essentially, this is a problem created by the Council.
They illegally painted out the mural,
they failed to explain why they thought the mural was to be painted out,
they failed to explain why an anti graffiti volunteer (not even a Council employee) was able to get this mural painted out,
they've failed to explain why their graffiti officer has got involved with the replacement mural,
and they've destroyed a successful working relationship Askew had built up over ten years with the owner/ tenants and with the neighbours.
Doesn't make Len Brown look good, does it?
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