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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

Congratulations to Creative NZ’s New CEO – Gretchen la Roche!

Congratulations to Gretchen la Roche who has been named as the incoming CEO of Creative New Zealand.
Paemanu: Awa Toi at the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in Queensland.
Paemanu artists are exhibiting collective work – Paemanu: Ara Toi – at the Asia Pacific Triennial in Queensland.
Experience the Wharenui Harikoa – House of Joy
Made from 5000 balls of brightly-coloured yarn and crotcheted by hand, this full size wharenui has been wowing audiences across…
Call for Expressions of Interest -Artist Studios at The Arts Centre
Expressions of interest are sought by Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre, from artists and craftspeople interested in leasing…
Have Your Say and Shape the Future of Arts Delivery in Aotearoa
The local arts sector needs your input to ensure the Creative and Cultural Strategy for New Zealand 2024–2030 reflects the…
Free All Summer: SCAPE Public Art Invites Everyone
SCAPE Public Art’s annual season of art in public space opens this weekend in Ōtautahi Christchurch.
Ruby Kush Releases New Video -‘Only You’
We speak to singer songwriter Rebecca Robin AKA Ruby Kush about her new video ‘Only You’…
Upcoming Events
07.12 – 15.12 2024

The Little Street Art Festival

11:00 AM
The Little Street Art Festival is a unique event in Ōtautahi’s urban art landscape – and it’s back for 2024!
Various Locations
08.12 – 20.01 2024

The Brilliance of Men at Chamber Gallery

11:00 AM
Sharon Earl’s exhibition ‘The Brilliance of Men’ is on at Chamber Gallery, Rangiora during December and January.
08.12 2024

Plant Printing Workshop

2:00 PM – 4:00 pm
Join artist, Moana Lee, to create a beautiful photographic anthotype print of plants in the Pūharakekenui river catchment using a…
Christine Heremaia Field Centre, Lower Styx Road
08.12 2024

The Piano presents Somi Kim – Sundays at Four

4:00 PM – 5:00 pm
Hailed for her “breath-taking range of colour, tone and inflection” (The Times), South Korean born New Zealand pianist Somi Kim…
The Piano
Opportunities

Become a Creative Communities Assessor!

The Christchurch City Council is seeking nominations for new Creative Communities Assessors….
Hagley Theatre School Auditions
Apply to Hagley Theatre School for the 2025 programme – deadline is December 4th!
Registrations Open for Seasoned Dance 2025
Registrations are now open for Seasoned Dance 2025.
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….
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
People & Places

Cubbin Theatre Company

Cubbin Theatre Company is the only theatre group in Aotearoa making specific content for toddlers and babies and it’s home grown here in Christchurch…
Performance, Theatre
Blast from the Past
Dame Ngaio Marsh as Hamlet
Dame Ngaio Marsh as Hamlet, by WS Baverstock.
Literature, Performance
Creatively Christchurch
James Meharry – Radio DJ and Sonic Theorist
RDU’s James Meharry on creativity
Broadcasting, Music, Radio
News
Julia, U2 and Me – Matt Calman Reflects on the Power of Song
Matt Calman reflects on the power of music, when he catches up with Julia Deans during her recent performance of…
Music
Interview
Phil Keoghan -From Lincoln to the World.
The Amazing Race’s Phil Keoghan was born in Lincoln, find out how his early days in Christchurch shaped his career…
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