Arts Month is a grass-roots style campaign led by the Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi. A month-long event to engage every New Zealander in the arts, putting it into the national conversation. We were tasked with creating a campaign that lets both artists and the wider public add their voice to the conversation.
We developed the concept ‘Art Is:’ — an open ended question that we posed to the public, but also one that the Arts Foundation could answer themselves. Throughout the month, we highlighted how art affects the public and the importance it has on our lives as New Zealanders. Over the month the public were given the opportunity to write, draw, sing, dance and express what the arts meant to them.
In application, Arts Month was adorned with the Arts Foundation’s brand device, which came to life in a bright green neon colour. This was paired alongside a soft grey background and a bold typographic approach. Clear space was left unobstructed across the centre of collateral giving space for the public to add their own thoughts and perspectives.
At the core of the campaign was an interactive tool, housed on the Arts Foundation website, that allowed the public to draw, type, paint, doodle or add imagery to a composition. In the physical, Sharpie marker pens were attached to Phantom posters and left next to postcards at cafés. Posters were put up around schools and public spaces encouraging use and participation.