Two artists with a shared vision have gained funding from the Featherston Community Board to create Featherston’s first Pae Tū Mōkai Mural Festival this weekend from Friday 24 July to Sunday 26 July and they are inviting the community to take part in painting and watching the artwork being completed.

Steffen and Kelly share a vision of turning Featherston into a destination for meaningful public art, which began late last year with artwork on the Bakehouse building, which pays homage to Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival.

The latest new art is called Life Beneath the Surface and sits on the wall facing the Fresh Choice supermarket car park. In the foreground, two remarkable residents of Lake Wairarapa take centre stage: the ancient tadpole shrimp which is depicted scouring the lakebed for food and the dramatic lamprey winding its way along the top of the wall.

A group of children from Featherston School (pictured below) began the painting this week in the lead up to the festival. Steffen guided them with colours to follow the imprint he had already put on the wall.

“When it’s finished, this mural is going to be an invitation to pause, look closely, and imagine the rich community that has always existed beneath the water,” says Steffen.

The July festival heralds the beginning of the vision and plans are underway for future mural festivals, the first of which is scheduled for 5 to 8 November 2026, followed by another eight community murals in November 2027.

The festival’s success comes at a time when demand for Featherston Community Board funding is high, says Council Grants Advisor Lina McManus, who notes that stand-out applications for the latest Featherston Community Board funding round came from a wide range of organisations, of which the local foodbank gained the highest grant in this round.

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