CRL Shows True Colours

Paul Walsh on his CRL art works.

City Rail Link sites were awash with colour this month for Auckland Art Week 2020 – once again pulling its weight as New Zealand’s largest art project.

At Karangahape Station Paul Walsh, the local graffiti artist responsible for the fun and colourful characters on the Canada Street hoardings, led tours showcasing the street art around the Mercury Lane site and Karangahape Road area.

The Mt Eden Station team hosted a self-guided art tour around the local uptown community with options for participants to visit the Organic Market Garden, the Coffee Pen, the Art Studio Collective and much more.

At Aotea Station, hoardings were covered in beautiful artwork by New Zealand artists - including a 50-metre hoarding running alongside Auckland Council on Albert Street. This artwork was called Urban Mesh and is a collaborative project between Link Alliance, Artweek and local artist Deborah Crowe. It was built from photographic imagery gathered during Crowe’s urban ‘wanderings’ in the city centre area of Tāmaki Makaurau.

On C2 Albert Street, Connectus staged an art exhibition to celebrate the completion of the Albert Street works between Customs Street and Wyndham Street and to thank neighbours for their patience and support over the past four years. The exhibition involved artworks from local artists with works showcasing the new connectivity of our city and giving Albert Street back to the community.

Local artist, Elliot Collins, was also commissioned to create a text-based activation on the corner of Albert and Wolfe streets that uses temporary wooden monuments made of salvaged CRL construction materials.

Elliot Collins on his CRL artwork.