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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
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 keep local music and the arts alive in Ōtautahi.
Broadcasting, Music
News | 12 May 2026
Emerging Christchurch Musicians Receive Scholarship Support from The Piano
Two exceptional young musicians from Ōtautahi Christchurch have received comprehensive scholarships supporting music based projects at The Piano, one of…
Music
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…
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
Exhibition, Performance | 6 May 2026
The Road is the Site of Many Journeys – Maree Quinn Sound Installation
As part of NZ Music Month in May, Toi Auaha is hosting Maree Quinn’s sound-based exhibition, The Road is the…
Music
Exhibition | 3 May 2026
Mono – Kulimoe’anga Stone Maka at Jonathan Smart Gallery
The mono is a small patch on tapa. It covers holes, tears and remarries seams. Mono is also the title…
Pasifika, Visual Arts
Events & Exhibitions | 27 April 2026
He Wāhanga nō te Kōrero at Te Whare Tapere
Te Whare Tapere invites you to their first curated exhibition of the year: He Wāhanga nō te Kōrero.
Ngā Toi Māori
New Zealand Music Month
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… Read it here!
Music
Exhibition, Performance | 6 May 2026
The Road is the Site of Many Journeys – Maree Quinn Sound Installation
As part of NZ Music Month in May, Toi Auaha is hosting Maree Quinn’s sound-based exhibition, The Road is the…
Music
Workshops | 3 May 2026
Free Artist Development Seminar – Music Royalties at Darkroom
Darkroom’s Free Artist Development Series is back and our guest speaker for this month is Mike Hall, the NZ Director…
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
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

Growth pinned on arts, cul­ture and pub­lic spaces – Victoria Meakin of The Press Reports

From street art to major festivals, Christchurch leaders say the arts are no longer a nice to have – they are central to the city’s economic future and international identity.

The city council adopted a new 10-year strategy on Wednesday, aimed at cementing Ōtautahi as one of New Zealand’s cultural capitals.

The Toi Ōtautahi/Christchurch Arts 2026-2036 Strategy was signed off with no change to current funding and leans heavily on the city’s thriving street art scene and cornerstone organisations to drive economic and social wellbeing.

Click here for the story. 

Opportunities
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
Opportunities & Proposals | 31 March 2026
Changing Threads | Contemporary Textile Fibre Art Awards
Entries for inclusion in the Changing Threads National Contemporary Textile and Fibre Awards are now open until the 23rd April.
Textile
Education and Courses
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 | 19 April 2026
Drawing & Portraiture with Nina Cook
This welcoming class is suitable for beginners through to mid-level artists – hosted by Nina Cook at WEA
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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