Christchurch will soon be home to seven large freestanding lightboxes celebrating and promoting creativity in Ōtautahi.
The new lightboxes will be a dedicated resource for the arts, with a requirement that all displays be artist-created and non-commercial. They will bring much-needed public art infrastructure to Christchurch’s central city, and help create a stronger plaform for Toi Ōtautahi, the city’s arts and creativity strategy.
Four are located outside Te Pae and currently show the Pacific Sisters Te Pu O Te Wheke, while three are located in City Mall and show the work of Jess Collins, Hōhua Kurene, and artists from the White Room Creative Space.
Mago Szn, 2022
Hōhua Kurene
Digital photographs
This work depicts my little cousin Misipati (after my grandfather) Kurene and his use of the Lou, a long lightweight but strong rod used to pick all kinds of fruit and flowers hanging high up in the trees. This particular tree was planted by my Grandmother Luita. The mountain sat behind my cousin is our family mountain, Mount Pago. Here, under this very mago tree my grandmother would await the return of my Grandfather as he tended to the taro plantation that sits at the peak of Mount Pago. The second image depicts the fruits of the season, from the tree of my grandmother Luita, almost ready for harvest! Or through another lens: ornament-like fruits / little gifts awaiting the morning harvest as Christmas approaches.
The White Room Summer Printmaking Project, 2022
Various White Room Artists
Digitised relief prints
The White Room Creative Space was developed in late 2014 in response to a growing need to foster and develop the creative talent of people supported by SkillWise. With its own dedicated creative space, it has become an exciting and successful place where artists can explore and showcase their artistic potential.
Through its work in-studio and across various outreach programmes, The White Room advocates for the artists’ inclusion in contemporary arts practice by supporting their art making, participation in exhibitions, and other creative projects.
The White Room recently received funding from the Holdsworth Charitable Trust to buy a small printing press and run a series of printmaking workshops. These workshops have included relief printing, collagraphs, and experimental printing with found objects and materials. The printing press is a great asset and will allow the artists a whole range of new opportunities to explore and expand their arts practice.
Rau Mate and Rau Ora, 2022
Jess Collins