Dunedin: The Street Art City of the South
 
In 2014 UNESCO designated Dunedin as a Creative City of Literature, but there is an equally vibrant art scene, some of which is seen in the street art and murals around the city.  Traveling around the city for can be an adventure due to the numerous large and smaller paintings that one comes upon unexpectedly on walls of buildings, on bridges and overpasses, in alleys, on houses in residential neighborhoods, on electrical boxes, and on bus shelters.  Street paintings provide dashes of creativity and color for residents and visitors in their daily comings and going around the city.  The paintings embrace a range of themes; some are inspired by the nature and history of the area, and others are whimsical imaginings.  The art can be found in center city as well as in outlying areas such as South Dunedin, St. Clair, North Dunedin, Port Chalmers, the Peninsula, and indeed throughout the Southland and in other cities around New Zealand. This page highlights just some of the works I came across in a month-long stay in Dunedin in Dec. 2024-Jan. 2025.  New art is popping up all the time, and other works deteriorate, disappear or are painted over.

Local artists have been active in the city for decades, but the street art scene gathered more attention in 2014 when several international artists did works leading to the Dunedin Street Art Festival in October, where international and local artists created ten large works.  The Dunedin City Council has a process for approving large murals and maintaining standards, based on a process developed for Wellington.  Other entities involved include the Dunedin Street Art Trust, which has been largely inactive recently, Keep Dunedin Beautiful, and individual businesses and organizations which sponsor the art.  DCC promotes a "Dunedin Street Art Trail" listing 50+ art works from 15+ international artists, while the "Street Art Cities" website page for Dunedin maps over 100 murals around the city. 

See also:
Enterprise Dunedin [DCC's Economic Development Agency]: "The Insiders' Guide to the Dunedin Street Art Trail." — www.dunedinnz.com/street-art

Dunedin City Council: Murals 101.

Dunedin Street Art: fb.com/dunedinstreetart  | dunedinstreetart.co.nz.

South Dunedin Street Art Trail: fb.com/SouthDStreetArtTrail.

Street Art Cities–Dunedin: streetartcities.com/cities/dunedin.

Glen Hazelton.  "Dunedin Street Art." in Scope: Art & Design, 2015, pp. 139-149.

Amanda Cropp.  "Street art's wow factor is good for business so councils and building owners are going  mural shopping."  Stuff, August 29, 2021.

Nikki Macdonald.  "Street art – public property or copyrighted art?"  Stuff, March 3, 2020.

Bruce Mahalski.  "Dunedin Murals." artordeath, Apr. 25, 2021.

Anna D. Smith.  "Artist Natalia Rak not told her Dunedin mural would be painted over."  Underground Art Report, April 2, 2024.
Fiona Ellis.  "Change of art: Building owners keen on new mural."  Otago Daily Times, April 2, 2024.

Courtney White.  "Street Art Trust dives back in to promoting murals."  Otago Daily Times, Dec. 8, 2021.

--.  "Dunedin: In the art of the city."  The New Zealand Herald, Jan. 21, 2016.

Elizabeth Kerr.  "Street art upsets Dunedin residents."  What if?  Dunedin..., Apr. 4, 2015.

Debbie Porteous.  "$10,000 heritage grant for Dunedin street art."  Otago Daily Times, Aug. 9, 2014.

Nevill Smith.  "John Noakes: The Bus Stop Artist."  A Sarah Hewson Production, 2012.

Zarina.  "Dunedin Street Art Trail: Blending Art and History."  Miss Travel Clogs, May 1, 2020.