Right now, as you're reading this, there are artists on walls in Greerton. Five of them. And if you haven't swung by to watch the work go up — you've still got time.
The Greerton Village Mural Festival is running until June 26, bringing five large-scale murals to the suburb in a project initiated by Tauranga muralist Sam Allen. It's the kind of thing that happens in the city centre and over at the Mount all the time — and Allen wanted Greerton to get some of that same energy.
"The reason I initiated this project was to give love to Greerton because 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 and care," Allen said.
The Artists and the Walls
Tautoko Matehaere is working on a piece that reinterprets traditional marae architecture through bold purple and orange — a wharenui framed by carved guardians, native planting and a taniwha rising from the brickwork. Flowing pathways and tukutuku-inspired forms weave through the composition. It's the kind of mural that rewards more than a quick glance.
Marsh Pearson is at the Chadwick Rd stairs, painting wheku and manaia figures as kaitiaki — protectors watching over the space from different directions. Alongside them, kaokao patterns from tukutuku weaving that symbolise strength and support. Classic Marsh: traditional forms, immense presence.
Manea Ngatai is going nostalgic in the best possible way — cherry blossoms and classic cars on the Salvation Army Family Store building, nodding to Greerton's beloved seasonal festival. It's the kind of detail that makes a neighbourhood mural feel like it actually belongs somewhere.
Rounding out the five: Louis Mikaere's welcome piece for the southern gateway (woven threads and birds, community through diversity) and Millie Pidwill's pair of fantails on the former Waipuna Hospice shop — light, native, and perfectly placed.
Go See It
Live painting is happening now through June 24 — walk the village and you might catch an artist mid-wall. The community celebration is at 1pm, Friday June 26 at Greerton Library, with kapa haka from Greerton Village School and live music from Treble in Paradise.
This is what public art should look like: artists who know the place, stories that belong to the community, walls that'll still be worth looking at in ten years. Get down to Greerton before it's done.
If you're working on something similar — a commission, a festival wall, a community project — we'd love to hear about it. Come find us in-store or reach out online.
Source: SunLive — Murals to brighten Greerton (12 June 2026)