Aunty Bea

Artwork Name: Aunty Bea

Artist Name: Taumata Soloman

Location: 1270 Eruera Street

Medium: Painted mural

Rotorua-based street artist and teacher Taumata Soloman, was selected by ARONUI Indigenous Arts Festival to honour ‘Aunty Bea’ in 2019 as part of the Te Toki o Te Arawa mural series.

‘Aunty’ Bea Yates was a well-known figure in the Rotorua community. Teacher, fundraiser, entertainer, author and volunteer, Aunty Bea impacted the lives of many in Rotorua. Soloman portrayed Aunty Bea encircled by a red Māori-style scarf (her favourite colour) which trails along the mural spelling Aunty.

ARONUI Indigenous Arts Festival chose Rotorua-based street artist and teacher Taumata Soloman, to create the mural of Aunty Bea as he was a former colleague of Bea’s from Lakes High School.

Soloman portrayed Aunty Bea circled within a red Māori-style scarf (her favourite colour) which trails along the mural spelling Aunty. At the end of the scarf is a cartoon-style bumblebee, her signature, on all the books she wrote. Stencilled koru and poi form the background of the mural, representing Bea’s love for ngā toi Māori.

Credit: Taumata Soloman, Aunty Bea, 2019. Commissioned by ARONUI Indigenous Arts Festival.

About the artist: Rotorua local Taumata Soloman (Ngāi Tūhoe) has created several murals around the city, including at several schools.

He is passionate about introducing tamariki (young children) and rangatahi (youth) to the power of art and encouraging them to explore and express their own artistic view.