In 1984, Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant published Subway Art, a book that collated the grungy urban art pieces that had been spray-painted on the subway walls—and carriages—that snaked through New York City’s gritty underground. In doing so, the pair of photographers stripped away the city grime and showed commuters that they were surrounded by art every day.
Despite comparisons drawn between the two cities in a recent Colenso BBDO TVC, Auckland doesn’t really compare to New York City when it comes to urban art. And while it is a good thing that the Super City isn’t covered in the obscene scrawlings that are ubiquitous in other major cities, the addition of some art to Britomart concourse – albeit in the name advertising – will serve as a welcome treat to those catching a bus or train.
The creative agency True has collaborated with Adshel and the mobile application business StQry (pronounced story) to turn Britomart concourse into an ad-hoc gallery for World of WearableArt (WOW) by putting up 22 large, photographic artworks, which have been carefully chosen from WearableArt, a new book that celebrates the WOW Awards Show.
All the images on display are based on a series of photographs that were taken by Nelson photographer Daniel Allen. And although there aren’t any advertising slogans plastered across any of the Adshels in Britomart, they have been put on display to pique interest and encourage passers-by to purchase tickets for the World of WearableArt (WOW) show season in September and October.
In addition to the the images in Britomart, Adshel and WOW have also placed posters on display on bus stops around the city. However, these differ from those on display in Britomart because they have been tagged with advertising phrases.
The CEO of the World of WearableArt, Meg Matthews, says the campaign was an exciting opportunity for both WOW and Adshel to interact with customers and to push the boundaries of design and creativity by presenting the exhibition in an unexpected environment.
The project has also been digitally integrated with a StQry-created app, which can be accessed via a QR barcode onsite. Once the app has been downloaded, it links users to information about each of the garments and also provides details about attending the event in Wellington.
Tickets for the annual two-hour show, now in its 12th season, have been available since 1 February, and there are 12 dates to choose from.
