The Kiwi Art Trail is here

Published on 08 January 2025

Artworks by two Whangārei artists feature in the trail of 20 large, decorated kiwi scattered around the Town Basin and through Whangārei’s central city. Night Watcher by Briar van Ameringen can be discovered on Rust Avenue and Jesse's Technicolour Kiwi by Jesse Card starts the trail at Hīhīaua Peninsula.

The Kiwi Art Trail, a collection of more than 20 kiwi sculptures that have been turned into bespoke pieces of art by talented New Zealand artists, has been brought to Whangārei by Gallagher Insurance and Save the Kiwi in partnership with Whangarei District Council.

The Kiwi Art Trail, which runs from 6 January to 10 February 2025, is a free, family-friendly public art trail for all to enjoy and it’s for a good cause. When the trail ends, the sculptures will be auctioned, and proceeds will go towards kiwi conservation.

The first Kiwi Art Trail was hosted by Auckland in 2023. In October 2024, it set out on tour, first to Tauranga, then Napier. In January and February 2025, it is here in Whangārei, and then it will be going back to Auckland.

You can pick up a trail map (with a colouring competition on the back) from Kiwi North, Te Iwitahi (civic centre), Central Library, Gala, NorthAble, Hundertwasser Art Centre, Claphams National Clock Museum, Whangārei Art Museum, Burning Issues Gallery or Reyburn House, or download one from the website:

Kiwi Art Trail (kiwiarttrail.nz/whangarei)

Whangārei’s kiwi artists

Briar van Ameringen with her Night Watcher.

A graphic and digital designer by day, Briar van Ameringen has been leaning into painting and printmaking in recent years. She lives in the Whangārei Heads area and has the privilege of regularly bumping into kiwi and hearing their calls at night.

She says, “These birds of the night often keep themselves camouflaged within their environment and the night to keep away from predators such as dogs, cats, rats and stoats.

“The design highlights the vulnerability of the kiwi but also celebrates their skillful nature of keeping hidden within their environment. The bright colours of the day contrast against the shapes and eyes hidden in the night. A playful and vibrant piece to add to your garden space.”

Jesse Card and his Technicolour Kiwi.

Installation artist and nature-lover Jesse Card purchased a rural property in the Maunu area of Whangārei in 2022. Historically, this land was forest but for the past century has hosted cows, sheep and pigs. Jesse is committed to returning this land to primarily native plants to encourage a safe habitat for native animals and much more.

He says his kiwi calls us to think about our complex ecosystems and our place within them.

“Reminiscent of sunlight glinting through forest canopy, shadows and light dance across a shimmering surface to reveal the layered, imperfect beauty of nature’s design. Over 30 native plants lend their silhouettes to this work, their overlapping forms creating a chaotic dialogue of colour and texture. Like the messy, interwoven threads of an ecosystem, these shapes merge and collide, reflecting the interconnected, and even adversarial, roles that each element plays in sustaining the whole.”