Greerton has always had a bit of a quiet energy — a suburb that keeps its head down while the CBD and the Mount get the attention. That's about to change.
The first ever Greerton Village Mural Festival is running right now, June 15–26, and five artists are transforming walls across the village into large-scale public art. The project was initiated by Tauranga-based muralist Sam Allen, who's been on a mission to spread colour to parts of the city that don't usually get a look-in.
"The reason I initiated this project was to give love to Greerton. I've seen artworks go up around the city, the city centre, and over at the Mount — and I feel like this community needs some extra love."
Hard to argue with that.
The artists and what they're painting
Tautoko Matehaere is working with a bold purple and orange palette, reinterpreting traditional marae architecture — a wharenui framed by carved guardians, native planting, and a taniwha rising from beneath the brickwork. It draws from tukutuku and carving patterns while sitting firmly in contemporary street art territory.
Marsh Pearson's piece at the Chadwick Road stairs features wheku and manaia figures — kaitiaki watching over the space from different angles, interwoven with kaokao patterns representing strength and protection.
Manea Ngatai is going with something more nostalgic on the Salvation Army building — cherry blossoms and classic cars, a nod to Greerton's Cherry Blossom Festival, which has been a fixture of the village for years.
Louis Mikaere is painting the front of the Super Liquor store at the southern gateway — woven threads and birds representing movement, connection, and the diversity of the community arriving at that entry point.
And Millie Pidwill (aka Murals by Millie, a full-time Tauranga muralist) wraps up the village's northern end with two large fantails in flight on the former Waipuna Hospice building — simple, clean, and deeply local.
Come see it live
The unveiling celebration is Friday June 26 at 1pm at Greerton Library, with a kapa haka performance by Greerton Village School and live music from Treble in Paradise. Free, open to everyone.
This kind of festival is exactly what Tauranga's been building towards. The first-ever Tauranga Street Art Festival landed in March 2025 at five city locations, and earlier this year Graham Hoete completed a historical mural at Aspen Reserve that stopped people in their tracks — a reproduction of an 1880s photograph of Ngāi Tamarāwaho hapū men literally building Willow Street by hand. Public art has been gaining real momentum here, and Greerton stepping up with five murals in ten days is a significant moment.
If you're in the area between now and the 26th, go walk the trail while the artists are still on the walls. There's something different about watching it happen live — the smell of paint, the scaffold, the work in progress. That's the real show.
We'll keep watching what comes next for the local scene. If you're an artist or writer based in the Bay putting work up — get in touch. We're always keen to hear what's happening on the walls.