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The Christchurch City Council wishes to commission new, original artwork for the summer season for the four Lightboxes on Oxford Terrace near Te Pae west. The artwork should have a focus on summer, holidays, Christchurch and Waitaha. The commission is best suited to photography or print design/media.

The following brief summary of the people, associations and history of the site and surrounding area is intended to inspire further investigation and research by artists.

The Lightboxes are situated on the west side of Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre. They sit on a site of great significance for tangata whenua. For over a thousand years, local Māori lived, gathered, harvested and traded food here, sharing the bounty of the sea and the land. Between 1000 and 1500 AD, the site of Te Pae Christchurch was the home of Puari, an early Waitaha pā (early South Island iwi/tribe settlement), and an important source of mahinga kai (natural resources). The Waitaha pā stretched along the banks of the Ōtākaro Avon River, close to Victoria Square. Later, the area was the location of a market where Māori, particularly Ngāi Tūāhuriri from Kaiapoi, came to sell their produce on the banks of the Ōtākaro Avon River. The central city area of Ōtautahi Christchurch was also of great significance to local Māori as a traditional meeting place, and local iwi, Ngāi Tahu, made the region their home in the early 1700s. For early European settlers, the area was also the commercial centre of the burgeoning settlement, with a market square that formed a vital hub for the newly established city of Christchurch.

The artwork is to be located on the 4 Lightboxes on Oxford Terrace. Each lightbox has two sides/faces. Therefore, 8 original photos/images are required for the 4 lightboxes.

Artist fee:         $2,000.00 – for 4 lightboxes at Te Pae west (Oxford Terrace).

Address all correspondence to Community Arts Advisor, Olivia Webb
olivia.webb@ccc.govt.nz
03 941 8652