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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.

Nau Mai, Welcome to Toi Ōtautahi – The virtual arts office for Ōtautahi, Christchurch.

Toi Ōtautahi is a partnership project between Christchurch City Council, Creative NZ, Rātā Foundation, Mana Whenua, and Manatū Taonga Ministry of Culture and Heritage.

Christchurch has produced some of this country’s best known and most celebrated artists and artworks, and Ōtautahi continues to be a place where innovation and radical creativity flourishes. We are unapologetic supporters and champions for the significant role the city and its creatives have played, and continue to play in Aotearoa.

We want this site to celebrate all that is creative in the city and its wider environs and we want you to be part of it. Whether you’re a creative, an organisation, an audience member, a supporter or a visitor to this city, let us know what we can do to help make Ōtautahi the best city for creativity in Aotearoa.

Latest News

Amplify: A Creative and Cultural Strategy for New Zealand

Amplify: A Creative and Cultural Strategy for New Zealand is a national strategy that outlines how the government will prioritise support for our creative and cultural sector
Let Loose!
Let Loose! is a participatory experience from performance artist, Tane Te Pakeke-Patterson, that allows people to live out their superstar…
Ngāi Tahu Artists on the World Stage!
Paemanu Charitable Trust: Ngãi Tahu Contemporary Visual Arts will soon be taking their unique brand of exhibition making to Queensland…
November is TinyFest Month!
Tiny Fest, Ōtautahi’s most real, raw and radical arts festival, returns on the 22nd-24th of November.
Events & Exhibitions
The White Room Turns 10
The White Room Creative Space is turning 10! And in celebration of this fact, an exhibition is opening tomorrow at…
Upcoming Events
13.11 – 24.11 2024

Women of the Wheel: Past and Present Exhibition

9:00 AM
Journey through time and discover the history of women’s cycling in Ōtautahi Christchurch from 1890 to now.
Tūranga 60 Cathedral Square
13.11 – 15.12 2024

131 Women’s Suffrage Printmakers

10:00 AM
An exhibition that celebrates the historic milestone set on 19 September 1893 with 131 contemporary New Zealand printmakers’ works.
Te Whare Waiutuutu Kate Sheppard House
16.11 2024

The Shift

7:30 PM – 9:00 pm
The Shift is an electrifying dance production that showcases a diverse cast of dancers celebrating and empowering women from all…
McCombs Performing Arts Centre, Cashmere High School
22.11 – 24.11 2024

TinyFest

12:00 AM
Tiny Fest, Ōtautahi’s most real, raw and radical arts festival, returns on the 22nd-24th of November.
Tūranga Library and Little Andromeda
23.11 2024

White Camellias and Whalebone Corsets

2:00 PM – 3:00 pm
Join Leimomi Oakes and Kate Sheppard House for a captivating journey into the world of suffrage and fashion.
Kate Sheppard House, Ilam Road
Opportunities

Kickstart an Artist’s Career with Springboard!

The Arts Foundation’s ‘Springboard’ is back for 2025. Help kickstart an artist’s career…
Artistic Responders for Tiny Fest Needed!
Calling all artists, writers, and creatives! Tiny Fest needs responders – where artists and writers create creative responses to the…
Auditions for The SpongeBob Musical at The Court
Youth auditions for The Court Theatre’s SpongeBob Musical are open now…
Two Walls Mural Project
Two Walls Mural Call for Design Proposals now open at CoCA….
Are You Stoddart Cottage’s New Trustee?
Could you be a trustee for the Stoddart Cottage Trust? The charitable trust is looking for someone interested in volunteering…
Apply Now for Hagley Theatre Company
Want to be an actor? Applications for places at Hagley Theatre School are open until October 30 – so make…
Screen Canterbury NZ Production Grant Now Open
The 2024-2026 cycle of the Screen grant is officially open and applications are being sought for round tahi. Get yours in!
People & Places
Arts Organisation, Education & Workshops

Woolston Brass

Woolston Brass is 130 years old and still a huge part of the musical community
Jazz, Music
FeatureFeatured
Celebrating National Poetry Day – Eight Poets – Poets vs Climate Change
Eight local poets respond to the issue of climate change and the eternal question of what can art really change?
Literature, Poetry
Galleries, Studios & Venues
Heathcote Valley Gallery
Heathcote Valley Gallery is home to many talented local painters, potters, and sculptors.
Craft & Object, Paint and Print, Sculpture
News
Hannah Powell – From North Canterbury to Rolling Stone
Hannah Powell is the epitome of a Go Get ‘Em attitude. The 24-year-old followed her dream and is now writing…
Music
Ōtautahi in the News

Dillastrate Release a New Waiata – Māwherangi

Check out the NZ Herald’s story on Dillastrate’s new waiata Māwherangi…
Mt Fuji Comes to New Brighton
1News reports on Japanese mural painter, Morio Nakajima, who is painting Mt Fuji on a wall in New Brighton
Music Feature on RNZ: Jazz in the 21st Century
Christchurch saxophonist, Jimmy Rainey, on RNZ’s Afternoon show talking about jazz in the 21st century
The Remarkable Friendship of Iconic Architects Warren and Mahoney -RNZ’s Culture 101
Listen to Perlina Lau’s interview with Jane Mahoney and Rick Harvie on their moving film, ‘Maurice and I’
Ōhinehou Lyttelton with ceramicist Grace Uivel – RNZ
Listen to ceramist Grace Uivel on Culture 101 talking about her hometown of Lyttelton
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