The Urban Art Series starts with Hidden Treasures, a series of work that has been previously out of the public eye. The first piece, Raymond McIntyre’s 1915 Self Portrait, is courtesy of Te Papa.  

The art will be showcased across a selection of Adshel NZ’s digital roadside network, including three free-standing digital units located on Wellington’s Lambton Quay. Artworks will show for 16 seconds each, 24 hours a day, and will be run alongside ads. 

Urban Art Foundation creator and executive producer, Andrew Hagen told Stuff that the idea came to him while he was in traffic. 

“What most people don’t realise is that due to the lack of gallery space, only about seven percent of the art owned by New Zealand taxpayers and ratepayers is on display,” he said.

“How do you give the general public a chance to see priceless New Zealand art that’s been locked away, simply because there isn’t enough space to hang it? By forming a win-win partnership with Adshel NZ and utilising their rapidly expanding digital network, The Urban Art Series initiative allows us to take these rarely seen gems out of storage and onto the streets. This exciting, unique initiative will create a whole new dimension in communication and public-private co-operation.”

Adshel NZ’s general manager, Nick Vile, says his team is proud to be able to showcase a curated collection of art to the residents and visitors of Wellington.

“Our digital roadside network is a perfect vehicle for this type of community project, with the screens presenting the artwork in high definition and scheduling flexibility enabling a variety of works to be displayed.”

The series is now live on selected Adshel Live screens across the Wellington CBD and permanently on the three Lambton Quay sites. 

Poster company Phantom Billstickers also runs New Zealand art and poetry on some of its inventory. 

Callum Rooney (Raw Power Print) and his Phantom art. 

As it says on its website: “With our street poster sites we’re well placed to provide artists, musicians, poets and writers a platform to gain exposure and reach out to the public. One of our statements to live by here at Phantom Billstickers is ‘Flora for the concrete jungle’, whereby we try to leave each place we touch better, and more lovely than when we found it.”

This story originally appeared on StopPress