BAD EXPOSURE is Aotearoa street artist Xoë Hall (Kāi Tahu) and Pōneke based arts advocate Tom Huthwaite. Their two worlds collided after a series of unfortunate (but not uncommon) instances of mural artists being ripped off. Commercial entities were coming along, misappropriating works without permission or payment, and then saying “oh, but it will be great for your exposure”.
Tom and Xoë found that countless artists have experienced something similar, and many thought there wasn’t much that could be done about it. After all, street art is "public art", right...? right...? And everything available on the internet – well, that’s free, right…?
WRONG!
A groundswell is here. It’s time to spread the word to help the artists and creatives of Aotearoa to protect their mahi. It’s time to break down the barriers and common misconceptions of the law. BAD EXPOSURE aims to educate not only artists but everyone that it is not OK to misappropriate art for commercial or personal gain.Artists should feel empowered by their rights, rather than confined by the system. Art is a valuable form of work that deserves so much more than just ‘bad exposure’.