19 June, 2020

Artless thieves steal banners from Rose Centre

Hanging-banner art at the Rose Centre has been stolen just days after it was put up.

“It’s very disappointing,” said centre manager John Davies.

“The blinding speed of it – the banners were hung on Friday and gone by Monday,” he said.

All the more depressing as “there has not been a single piece of vandalism or graffiti (on the building) since I got here three years ago.”

The four banner artworks were produced by the Youth Arts group, with assistance from a Devonport-Takapuna Local Board grant.

Davies is hopeful the works may be recovered if vandals took them and the canvases were dumped nearby.

The works, around two metres long, are “unusable” for anyone without a huge wall upon which to hang them, perhaps “a millionaire with a mansion in Takapuna,” Davies said.

The banners cost between $1500 and $2000. If the artworks are not recovered or are found damaged, the Rose Centre would replace and rehang them through an insurance claim, or money from a benefactor.

A mural is also planned inside the building.