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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.

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

Ōtautahi State of the Arts Survey

The Christchurch City Council Toi Ōtautahi Community Arts Team is gathering information from local artists, arts organisations and businesses to see how best we can help you!
News | 20 May 2026
Reuben Woods, “Christchurch is Having a Moment,” – on RNZ
Watch This Space’s Reuben Woods spoke to RNZ about why Christchurch is ‘having a moment’ and why its the only…
Exhibition | 19 May 2026
Unreal Canterbury at Eastside Gallery
Unreal Canterbury brings together 11 artists whose works tilt the familiar, unsettle the expected, and reimagine the region.
Visual Arts
Performance | 19 May 2026
The Merry Widow – Toi Toi Opera
Dress in your finest black-tie and waltz the night away at The Tannery Christchurch this July with Toi Toi Opera’s…
Opera
Exhibition | 17 May 2026
BOOST -Lisa Walker & Josephine Cachemaille at The National
BOOST at The National  – Lisa Walker & Josephine Cachemaille – Don’t miss this show!
Fashion and Design
Workshops | 17 May 2026
Toi Ōtautahi Wednesday Workshop – Creative Copyright, IP & AI 
Who Owns Your Art? Creative Copyright, IP & AI with Karen Workman from the New Zealand Copyright Commission – Free…
Interview, News | 14 May 2026
Plains Media Presents its NZ Music Month Artist Spotlight
As part of Plains Media’s NZ Music Month Artist Spotlight series, they’re highlighting the venues and creative spaces that help…
Broadcasting, Music
New Zealand Music Month
News | 19 May 2026

Loopy Tunes on a Grammy Nominated Album!

Ōtautahi children’s music duo Loopy Tunes feature on an album which was nominated for Best Children’s Music Album at this year’s Grammys: Flor Bromley’s ‘Herstory’.
Music, Tamariki & Rangatahi
News | 7 May 2026
NZ Music Month – Delaney Davidson
For NZ Music Month, our partner – Audioculture – has a new profile of Delaney Davidson, written by Nick Bollinger……
Music
News | 3 May 2026
NZ Music Month – Our Sounds, Our Spaces
The New Zealand Music Commission is gearing up to celebrate the 26th NZ Music Month this Month…
Music
Gigs | 20 April 2026
Feather Shaw on Echo Chamber at the Darkroom
A group of local musicians are busy learning songs by other local artists ahead of the sixth annual Christchurch Echo Chamber,…
Music
Festival, Gigs | 24 March 2026
Go Live Festival 2026
Now firmly established as a cornerstone event on the Christchurch cultural calendar, Go Live Festival brings generations of fans together…
Music
Interview, News | 14 May 2026
Plains Media Presents its NZ Music Month Artist Spotlight
As part of Plains Media’s NZ Music Month Artist Spotlight series, they’re highlighting the venues and creative spaces that help…
Broadcasting, Music
Calendar of Events
02.05 – 28.06 2026

Home Studio at Objectspace

10:00 AM
Home Studio explores the blurred boundaries between domestic and working spaces, bringing together artists who produce work from, within, or for…
Sir Miles Warren Gallery
30.05 2026

2026 Christchurch Echo Chamber

7:00 PM – 11:00 pm
Darkroom presents the 6th annual Ōtautahi Christchurch Echo Chamber on Sat May 30th, featuring a line up of local Chch…
Darkroom, St Asaph Street
07.06 – 09.07 2026

Art in Fashion – Rosalie Todd

10:00 AM
Art in Fashion is a celebration of the iconic and distinctive couture by local fashionista and legend Rosalie Todd. 
Chamber Gallery, Rangiora
22.06 2026

National Flash Fiction Day

5:30 PM – 7:30 pm
Ōtautahi National Flash Fiction Day is the local celebration of NZ National Flash Fiction Day – short fiction on the…
Tautoru TSB Space, Level One, Tūranga
23.06 – 25.06 2026

Wonder – Hagley Theatre School

7:30 PM
Funny, surreal and deeply moving, Wonder blurs the line between the magical and the real where everyday objects come alive,…
Iasaac Theatre Royal

SPOTLIGHT ON: Ōtautahi in the News

SPOTLIGHT ON: Ōtautahi in the News

A bold plan to devolve the way our arts are funded through ‘regional partnerships’ is revealed. Mark Amery reports for The Big Idea.

Our arts development and funding agency is undertaking one of the most fundamental shifts New Zealand has ever had in how we fund art, and artists.

Creative New Zealand has called for expressions of interest by 29 May from groups around the motu to enter regional partnerships with CNZ to deliver arts development, administer and distribute regional funding, and connect, partner and advocate for the arts in their region.

Click here to read the story.

Opportunities
Opportunities & Proposals | 14 April 2026

Otago University Arts Fellowships Open – Extended to 15 June

Otago University is pleased to invite a range of talented artists to apply for several prestigious Fellowships.
Funding | 15 May 2026
2026 CLNZ | NZSA Secondary School Leavers Scholarship Open Now
Applications for the CLNZ | NZSA Secondary School Leavers Scholarship are now open.
Casting Call for Fourth Year Honours Degree Student Film
Casting Call for Fourth Year Honours Student Film – Check out the roles available
Opportunities & Proposals | 11 May 2026
Applications Now Open for the 2026 Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship
Applications for one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most prestigious and long-running Fellowships are now open – closing 12 June 2026.
Literature
Opportunities & Proposals | 20 April 2026
2026 Gasworks Residency for an Artist from Aotearoa New Zealand – Call for Applications
Applications are now open for an early-career artist based in Aotearoa New Zealand to undertake an eleven-week, fully funded residency…
Opportunities & Proposals | 6 April 2026
Expressions of Interest for Pasifika Production Internship Pilot
The Court Theatre and Creative NZ are calling for expressions of interest for the Pasifika Production Internship Pilot, running from…
Pasifika
Opportunities & Proposals | 31 March 2026
The Finding Persephone Poetry Competition
The Finding Persephone Poetry Competition is looking for poetry that explores what femininity means to you.  All gender identities are…
Poetry
Education and Courses
Workshops | 17 May 2026

Toi Ōtautahi Wednesday Workshop – Creative Copyright, IP & AI 

Who Owns Your Art? Creative Copyright, IP & AI with Karen Workman from the New Zealand Copyright Commission – Free workshop on Wednesday 10 June at Toi Auaha
Education & Courses | 14 May 2026
Writing for Children and Teens Workshop
Risingholme’s upcoming two-day introductory course is for anyone who wants to write books and stories for young readers.
Literature
Courses and Classes | 8 April 2026
Genius Textural Canvas Art
Immerse yourself in this 2-session course on textural painting at Blooms & Brushes art studio in Rangiora.
Visual Arts
Courses and Classes | 5 March 2026
Circability Circus Classes
Join a weekly circus class and discover the delight in the joy and connection circus brings to people’s lives!

The Big Idea’s Toi Ōtautahi Dispatch – May

The Big Idea’s Toi Ōtautahi Dispatch – May

Toi Ōtautahi Dispatch is a new monthly column and partnership with The Big Idea. Each month we will bring you a roundup of what’s happening in the arts across Christchurch.  What’s going on, what’s been going on, and what’s coming up in our awesome city this month!

Click here to read the May edition!

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