In 2023, 20 kiwi sculptures appeared in Tāmaki Makaurau. In 2024, more will pop up somewhere else.
Kiwi Art Trail: returning in 2024
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
#KiwiArtTrail2024
Kiwi sculptures designed by talented artists to celebrate our taonga species: the kiwi
Legend has it that millions of years ago, kiwi sacrificed their wings and bright plumage to live on the forest floor and protect the ngahere.
In October 2023, 20 amazing New Zealand artists gave kiwi their colour back by designing an array of beautiful sculptures. Together, the sculptures created a wonderful art trail that celebrated kiwi conservation, our unique taonga species, and the incredible talent we have here in Aotearoa. Each of the sculptures were auctioned off and raised $75,000 for kiwi conservation.
In 2024, we’re going to do it all over again.
Returning in 2024
About the kiwi art trail
The Kiwi Art Trail is a collection of uniquely designed and painted kiwi sculptures that together form a free, family-friendly public art trail for all to enjoy. 2023’s inaugural Kiwi Art Trail was located in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Stay tuned to see where it’ll be in 2024!
Brought to you by Save the Kiwi and Gallagher, the Kiwi Art Trail features an array of kiwi sculptures that have been turned into bespoke pieces of art by talented New Zealand artists. The trail is designed to tell the story of the kiwi and what all New Zealanders can do to help support and protect these special manu.
When the trail ends, the sculptures will be auctioned and proceeds will go towards kiwi conservation. In 2023, $75,000 was raised; let’s beat that in 2024!
The story behind
The Great Sacrifice
ABOUT
Save the Kiwi
Save the Kiwi is the national charity that lives and breathes the kiwi - it’s in the name, after all! They support kiwi conservation groups all over New Zealand, whether they’re doing hands-on kiwi work, protecting kiwi in-situ from predators like stoats and ferrets, or removing predators from a landscape where kiwi used to thrive, in preparation for their return one day.
Gallagher
ABOUT
Gallagher, formerly known as Crombie Lockwood, has been helping New Zealanders protect what’s important to them for 45 years. The leading insurance company is proud to back initiatives that enhance, protect and restore Aotearoa, and the things that matter to New Zealanders.
In 2019, Crombie Lockwood helped establish the Crombie Lockwood Kiwi Burrow, Save the Kiwi’s purpose-built kiwi incubation, hatching and brooding facility located in Taupō. Now known as Gallagher Kiwi Burrow, the facility has hatched more than 300 chicks since it opened, and released them into safe places in the wild.
Behind the scenes of the 2023 Kiwi Art Trail
Meet our sponsorship whānau
To find out how your business can get involved in 2024, please email ross@savethekiwi.nz.
About the kiwi
Kiwi used to thrive in Aotearoa for millennia and numbered in their millions, their piercing calls filling the inky night. But in just a few hundred years, widespread clearing of forest and introduced predators have seen kiwi numbers crash. Our forests, once loud with birdsong, are falling silent.
As a result, the kiwi population now hovers at around 68,000. Despite extensive conservation mahi, that number continues to drop nationally by 2% every year – that’s around 20 birds a week.
In areas where there is predator control, the rate of decline is slowing and some populations are even increasing. But much of Aotearoa’s forest remains unmanaged and kiwi remain at significant risk due to predators.
Most New Zealanders have never seen a kiwi in the wild – we’re lucky if we’ve seen one behind glass. Despite it being an icon that we’ve become internationally recognised for, the kiwi is at very real risk of disappearing from the wild within a few centuries … and many of us have no idea.
Join the conversation
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with all the latest Kiwi Art Trail news.
#KiwiArtTrail2023 #KiwiArtTrail2024
For more information, please email enquiries@savethekiwi.nz