Painting the town: Auckland CBD brought to life by young artists
• April 13, 2026
A new student-made mural stuns in Central Auckland's Snickel Lane. Photo: Clementine McIntyre
A popular Auckland lane has received a facelift thanks to new award-winning urban art hand painted by students.
Architecture students brought their creativity to Central Tāmaki Makaurau with their urban art village in October 2025. Photo: Architecture Now
Hidden between Fort Lane and Commerce Street lies Snickel Lane, a vibrant hub of art and food in central Auckland.
Snickel Lane owners, in collaboration with the University of Auckland's Elam School of Fine Art, created the Snickel Lane Urban Art Award a decade ago.
The award provides the winning student with the opportunity to work on a canvas larger than they ever have before, painting a new mural in the lane's dining area at the beginning of each year.
The 2025 winner, Ken Faber, has painted a celebration of one of New Zealand's rarer native birds, the takahe.
Elam student Ken Faber's newly finished mural highlights New Zealand's rare takahe on a large scale in Auckland's Snickel Lane. Photo: Clementine McIntyre
Snickel Lane’s property manager, Jeremy Koh, said the mural was finished this past weekend.
Elam said the award was developed "to offer an opportunity for a student to create and display a public artwork and develop the expertise needed to succeed in this field".
The 2022/2023 winner Izzy Hey said to Elam after she won the scholarship that “just having people that are putting up money and supporting the arts, that's super valuable for someone like me".
Student-made urban art is not a new addition to Auckland’s cityscape,. A CBD pop-up show last October celebrated the structural art of New Zealand’s architecture students.
Students from a collection of universities around the country had art installations on display in Auckland’s Britomart precinct, a part of which was an "urban art village".
Painting the town: Auckland CBD brought to life by young artists
Clementine McIntyre • April 13, 2026
Painting the town: Auckland CBD brought to life by young artists
Clementine McIntyre • April 13, 2026