Home - Toi Ōtautahi - The Virtual Arts Office For Christchurch

Nau Mai, Haere Mai

Mā te pohewa mā te auaha hoki, ka whakapuaki ngā kura e huna ana. With imagination and creativity a hidden jewel can be revealed. Welcome to Toi Ōtautahi.

Features

The Jazz Cabaret Festival is Back!

The Jazz Cabaret Festival is back in Christchurch in March – check out the programme now!

Jazz, Music

Pacific Sisters Fiafia Piknik

Pacific Sisters Fiafia Piknik – this Saturday. Check out this line up…

Pasifika

Arts Organisation

Museum to Pop Up at CoCA Building

The Museum has found a pop up home in the CoCA Building while it undergoes its redevelopment

Te Hā – at The Physics Room

The exhibition Te Hā considers the sacred breath: the deep inhalation, a savouring, the expulsion, pulse, echo and squall, resonating…

Visual Arts

Liminal Beings at Tyanhaus

Check out the group art exhibition at Tyanhaus

Visual Arts

International Mural Masters Fly In for SHIFT: Urban Art Takeover

Six international artists are creating work for SHIFT: Urban Art Takeover, Canterbury Museum’s blockbuster farewell exhibition which opens on 28…

Street Art

Electric Avenue is Back

Electric Avenue is returning with a stellar line up of artists…

Music

Upcoming Events

31.01 2023

The Tempest

19:30 PM – 10:00 pm

The Free Theatre presents ‘The Tempest’

Waldheim, Seven Oaks, 35 Hassals Lane, Waltham

11.02 2023

Nostalgia Festival

12:00 PM – 11:00 pm

Nostalgia Festival is returning to Ferrymead Heritage Park on Saturday 11th of February 2023.

Ferrymead Historic Park

17.02 – 24.02 2023

Liminal Beings

17:30 PM

Liminal Beings is a group art show that brings together 3 Ōtautahi-based artists who share similar styles and a passion…

Tyanhaus – 6 Carlyle Street, Sydenham

25.02 2023

Electric Avenue

11:00 AM – 11:30 pm

Electric Avenue is back and better than ever for 2023! With an incredible lineup featuring over 40 artists performing across…

Hagley Park

11.03 2023

Port Noise

11:00 AM – 11:00 pm

In Ōhinehau/Lyttelton on March eleventh come and enjoy a diverse and well curated selection of musicians at the forefront of…

Lyttelton

Year of the Arts 2023

Te Hā – at The Physics Room

The exhibition Te Hā considers the sacred breath: the deep inhalation, a savouring, the expulsion, pulse, echo and squall, resonating tone and timbre, intonation and incantation.

Visual Arts

Port Noise – A Music Festival in Lyttelton

Port Noise – a new music festival for Lyttelton is coming in March

Music

SHIFT – Urban Art Takeover of the Museum

A who’s who of the urban art scene from Aotearoa New Zealand and overseas will flock to Ōtautahi Christchurch in…

Street Art, Visual Arts

Year of the Arts 2023 – Celebrate Creativity!

Year of the Arts 2023 is here. Celebrating creativity in our city throughout the year.

Arts Access

Your Chance to Own a Toi Auaha Cup – Uniquely Created by Tatyanna Meharry

Get in quick for your own handcrafted Toi Auaha cup and help support the arts in Christchurch!

Craft & Object

Feature

Be Part of Year of the Arts 2023!

Let’s celebrate creativity in Ōtautahi with the 2023 Year of the Arts! Find out more here…

Literature, Music, Ngā Toi Māori, Pasifika, Performance, Visual Arts

Year of the Arts is Just Around the Corner…

Download resources for Year of the Arts 2023

Year of the Arts Events

31.01 2023

The Tempest

19:30 PM – 10:00 pm

The Free Theatre presents ‘The Tempest’

Waldheim, Seven Oaks, 35 Hassals Lane, Waltham

11.02 2023

Nostalgia Festival

12:00 PM – 11:00 pm

Nostalgia Festival is returning to Ferrymead Heritage Park on Saturday 11th of February 2023.

Ferrymead Historic Park

17.02 – 24.02 2023

Liminal Beings

17:30 PM

Liminal Beings is a group art show that brings together 3 Ōtautahi-based artists who share similar styles and a passion…

Tyanhaus – 6 Carlyle Street, Sydenham

25.02 2023

Electric Avenue

11:00 AM – 11:30 pm

Electric Avenue is back and better than ever for 2023! With an incredible lineup featuring over 40 artists performing across…

Hagley Park

11.03 2023

Port Noise

11:00 AM – 11:00 pm

In Ōhinehau/Lyttelton on March eleventh come and enjoy a diverse and well curated selection of musicians at the forefront of…

Lyttelton

Nga Toi Māori

Creatively Christchurch

Miriama Kamo – Writer and Broadcaster

Writer and broadcaster Miriama Kamo

InterviewFeatured

Shaping Stories – An Interview with Tainui Stephens

Tainui Stephens talks to Zara Potts about the importance of telling our stories, in our own ways.

ProfileFeatured

Carving Future Pathways – Damian Mackie

Ta Moko practitioner and carver, Damian Mackie, teaches rangatahi the art of whakairo at the Whakaraupō Carving Centre in Lyttelton.

Ngā Toi Māori, Whakairo

Tā Moko – The Fine Art of Surfacing

Phil Vine meets Ariana Tikao and her whānau and discovers the beautiful story behind ‘Mokorua: Ngā Kōrero Mō Tōku Moko…

Literature, Ngā Toi Māori

FeatureFeatured

Hine, Owner of Hinerewa Art Tā Moko Studio

Owner of Hinerewa Art Tā Moko Studio in New Brighton shares her inspiring story of becoming a tā moko artist.

Visual Arts

InterviewFeatured

Megan Tamati Quennell – Curating Ngā Toi Māori

Te Papa Curator of Modern and Contemporary Māori and Indigenous Art, Megan Tamati Quennell talks to Zara Potts about the…

Ngā Toi Māori, Te Toi Ataata, Visual Arts

FeatureFeatured

Matariki is Not a Pak’n’Save Special – Juanita Hepi

Juanita Hepi ‘Matariki is Not a Pak ‘n’ Save Special

Literature, Mātātuhi, Ngā Toi Māori

Latest Opportunities

Entries Open for World of Wearable Art

Entries for the Wearable Art Awards are now open…

Fashion and Design

Executive Director – Public Libraries NZ

Executive Director for Public Libraries NZ – Role based anywhere in Aotearoa

Literature

Opportunities & Proposals

Proposals Open at Eastside Gallery

Proposals are now open at Eastside Gallery…

Visual Arts

Opportunities & Proposals

Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre Creative Residency Programme 2023 -Applications Open

Apply now for Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre’s Creative Residency Programme

Arts Access

Opportunities & Proposals

Applications Open for The LiVS Incubator Project

Life in Vacant Spaces is looking for applicants for their latest project, The LiVS Incubator Project…

Arts Access

Opportunities & Proposals

Helping New Brighton Thrive – LiVS Trial to Increase Community Creativity

Help New Brighton thrive! Making The Roy Stokes Hall a creative community hub…

Arts Access

Lynn
Waldegrave

Fleur de Thier

Neighbourhood

Tonga

Raki

Beyond Ōtautahi

Hauauru

Rāwhiti

Central City

South-east part of christchurch

Tonga

The South of Christchurch is bursting with creativity from independent galleries, amazing street art and a vibrant music scene in Lyttelton. Creatives of all kinds have made the south their home in years past and continue to do so today.

North Ōtautahi

Raki

Take a stroll down Victoria Street to see some iconic murals that have become synonymous with Ōtautahi. As well as street art, you’ll find poetry installations and public art to lift the soul.

Beyond Ōtautahi

Amazing galleries from Akaroa to Oxford and communities of creative craftspeople and artists of all disciplines can be found just outside the city…

West Ōtautahi

Hauauru

The city’s west side is home to historic and contemporary galleries and further west you’ll find contemporary works and studios from Riccarton to the Airport. It’s an area that’s home to a variety of creative disciplines and creative communities.

Rawhiti

Rāwhiti

So much creativity has had its start in the East of the city – the area is as diverse as the art forms that have sprung from it. Painter Rita Angus, Poet Denis Glover, Singers Scribe and Ladi6, Filmmaker Ramai Hayward, Writer Keri Hulme, Flying Nun’s Roger Shepherd… and that’s just the beginning.

Central City

The city has some amazing new venues, majestic heritage spaces, a range of contemporary and traditional galleries, amazing public art installations and a enviable street art culture.