Banner image: Damen Dooms, 2025
Great Art on Main presents a series of artworks along the Avondale main street bringing bursts of colour and joy to the town centre. The series is brought to you by Whau the People in partnership with the Auckland Urban Development Office.
Tasting the Main Street (Avondale)
Join us on a tasting walk along the main street of Avondale with Melissa Laing and Whau the People. Sample the wide range of great food on offer while joining a conversation about the future of everyday food in Aotearoa.
Avondale’s main street is dotted with small eateries, each one a microcosm of food and social history. The owners of each food outlet serve kai with love. Kai that emerged, in its current form, in the last 300 years. From the evolution of tea houses in Southern China, and taquerias in Mexico in the late 1700s, the fish and chips that developed on the streets of Britain and Banh Mi that fused Vietnamese and French cuisine in the mid 1800s, to the popular American smash burger and Pacifica lamb flaps that have their roots in the mid 20th century.
All of these food traditions are surprisingly young, still innovating and adapting to changing tastes, ways of working and ever increasing cross cultural influence. What might they be like in the future?
The walk is led by local artist and food enthusiast Melissa Laing and accompanied by musician Gerhard Lottermoser. Melissa was the driving force behind the Urban Walking Festival, a co-creator of the Whau Arts Festival Fishy Parade and the creator of the mobile Pooch Portrait Studio. She enjoys creating opportunities for people to come together and share communal experiences.
Beginning at Green Jade and finishing at the Taphouse, this guided tasting journey is an opportunity to discover new flavours, connect with your community, and see Avondale with fresh taste buds. Whether you’re new to Avondale, or have called 828 home for years, you’re likely to discover something new.
Because spaces are limited, please let us know 24 hours in advance if you are no longer able to attend.
Tasting the Main Street is made possible with the support of the Auckland Urban Development Office
- When: Wednesday 24 June & Thursday 25 June, 6-8pm
- Where: Meeting outside 1836 Great North Road, Avondale
- Cost: FREE (Spaces are limited) Registrations are required
Dietary Requirements: We will try to support your dietary needs, but it is dependent on the restaurant’s menu. Please let us know in advance if you have any restrictions (e.g. you don’t eat pork or gluten). Vegetarian options are available. Vegan isn’t possible at every stop. Allergies need 24 hours notice.
Bobo Doodles |
The Mini Sticker Machine, 2026
The Mini Print & Sticker Machines by local artist Bobo Doodles bring moments of surprise, creativity, and connection to everyday experiences along Avondale’s main street. Installed at two beloved local businesses — Tokos Tacos and Pastry Chef — these interactive vending machines invite visitors to collect limited-edition sticker artworks inspired by the people, places, and flavours that make Avondale unique.
With every purchase, customers receive a token to activate the machine and take home a small piece of original artwork. Created in collaboration with the businesses and their owners, the collectible sticker series celebrates the character of Avondale through playful illustrations that transform an ordinary visit into a memorable encounter.
At Tokos Tacos, Bonnie worked with the Fonua whānau to create a series inspired by Avondale, tacos, and the vibrant spirit of the family-run eatery. Known for its Mexican-inspired flavours and warm Pasifika hospitality, Tokos Tacos has become a local favourite built on community, care, and connection.
At Pastry Chef, Bonnie collaborated with owner Song Ea and his family to develop a collection reflecting the bakery’s long-standing place in Avondale life. A fixture on Great North Road for more than two decades, Pastry Chef is loved for its freshly baked treats, iconic cream buns, and welcoming atmosphere.
“The Mini Print and Sticker Machines are passion projects born from a moment of inspiration while people-watching at a café and wondering what could add a little spark to our mundane routines. Each piece of art is a little keepsake of a moment in a place, and a connection to local spots that I hope encourages people to engage more deeply with their community.”
Artist Bio | Kōrero mō te Kaitoi
Bobo Doodles is the creative practice of Bonnie, a self-taught illustrator based in Tāmaki Makaurau. Her artistic journey began during the Covid-19 lockdowns, when she started drawing local shopfronts and neighbourhood scenes as a way of supporting small businesses and celebrating community life.
Now working as a full-time artist, Bonnie creates playful, accessible artworks that encourage people to find joy in everyday moments. Drawing inspiration from local stories, familiar places, and chance encounters, her work explores how art can exist beyond traditional gallery spaces and become part of daily life.
Instagram: @bobo.doodles
Earnest Bradley |
He Waka Eke Noa, 2025
We Are All in the Canoe Together
This mural gives form to He Waka Eke Noa, the understanding that we move forward together, each responsible for the direction we take. The waka becomes a shared vessel, guided by many hands, each person carrying a hoi (oar) that represents their role, effort, and contribution to the collective journey.
Set against the blue of the Whau River, the work acknowledges the mauri that flows through this place, a living presence that sustains movement, connection, and renewal. The waka is infused with pounamu, a taonga symbolising endurance, protection, and shared purpose, grounding the journey in whakapapa and care for one another.
Here, movement is not individual but communal. The mural honours the strength found in unity and the pride that grows when community rows in rhythm, deepening connection to place and to mana whenua, Te Kawerau ā Maki. It stands as a reminder that our journeys are strongest when carried together.
Artist Acknowledgements
A heartfelt mihi to Dom Crawford for curating this project, to the local businesses that nourished us throughout the process, and to the Avondale community who shared their love for this place. Special thanks to Xan Kavanagh, Anaru Kingi, Kayvahn Esmailzadeh, and Pia Kahui, who helped complete the mural on the final day, infusing the work with their wairua.
Lisa Watkins |
Still We Belong – Between Us, Anchored, 2025
Acrylic offcuts and resin
Made up of three connected sections, Still We Belong – Between Us, Anchored reflects on how individuals and communities shift, adapt, and sometimes drift apart. The central piece represents the shared space of community – a place of connection, support, and collective identity. The upper and lower sections begin in alignment, then gradually tilt and fragment, echoing the ways people grow, change direction, and shape their own paths.
In a world where community ties can feel weakened by mobility, individualism, and rapid social change, this work speaks to the importance of balancing our need for personal independence, and the deep, human, desire to belong. It is a reminder that we can be separate, diverse, and individual – while still anchored to our tribe, our community, and our place in the world.
Artist Bio | Kōrero mō te Kaitoi
Based in West Auckland, Lisa Watkins transforms found and donated objects into bold, layered artworks that blend sculpture, assemblage, and mixed media. Working under the name MyShinyMadness, her practice is raw, reflective, and unapologetically shiny – a vibrant response to the chaos of modern life.
Instagram: @myshinymadnessartist
Tracey Tawhiao |
Hui Koorero, 2025
This work honours Hui Koorero, the earlier Māori name for this place – a site of gathering and speaking. Drawing from an archive of images, whānau creativity, and past artworks, Tawhiao layers colour, pattern, and symbol to recreate that meeting of voices in visual form – these collages breathe colour and consciousness into the main street of Avondale.
Each piece is a reflection of the community’s living spirit – vibrant, layered, and ever-changing. The ika (fish) move through currents of red, pink, and gold, carrying messages of flow and unity, while white linework wraps the glass in patterns of connection – a visual whakapapa linking people, place, and wairua.
Here, Te Ao Mārama – the world of light – finds form in the heart of Avondale, transforming everyday space into a site of renewal and joy. The work celebrates creative expression as collective healing, inviting passers-by to pause, reflect, and remember the beauty that lives among us.
Artist Bio | Kōrero mō te Kaitoi
Tracey Tawhiao (Ngāi Te Rangi, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) is a contemporary Māori artist and artivist whose multidisciplinary practice transforms language, form, and colour into pathways of connection and awareness.
Instagram: @traceytawhiao
Showing: 14 November – 19 January 2026
