Transitional Christchurch - Public Art

So as you are all probably well aware I am doing my planning thesis on the transitional temporary uses that have happened in Christchurch in response to the earthquake and  in the last couple of weeks, I actually got to go and experience Christchurch and talk to some of the key people involved in pushing the boundaries of temporary and experimentation for Christchurch. It was awesome. The creativity in a city that is facing a long and slow recovery is astounding, and the public art in the city is of an amazing quality and content. So seeing as I have quite a few pictures and quite a few thoughts on transitional Christchurch I thought I would dedicate this post to the amazing public art I saw during my visit. 

Kaleidoscope Wall near Re:Start Mall

This "kaleidoscope" piece had the most amazing colours and was located on a wall near the Re:Start Mall (where I spent way too much time and money!). This piece really picked up the area, and was a huge change from the traditionally grey city centre that Christchurch had pre-earthquakes. 

Freak Container in the Re:Start Mall

The personalisation on some of the shipping containers actually in the Re:Start Mall was also amazing, this "freak container" near the amazing food truck area was one of my favourites. 

Portrait on the currently vacant Art Gallery

This large portrait is on the wall of what was previously the Art Gallery, but now remains unused. Also outside this art gallery is one of my particular favourite pieces...

The Gnomes

The giant, silver gnomes! What could be better then those two gnomes standing guard. I also really loved the "It's Coming Down" sculpture pictured below, which is actually 3m tall on the roof of a still standing building. 

It's Coming Down Sculpture

So that is all I have for you for now, even though the amazing public art in Christchurch appeared to be endless! I am flat out with work and uni at the moment but I will post again soon on the great transitional streetscapes and transitional urban design/architecture that has developed in Christchurch's Central City. 

Making the Most of Empty Spaces Recap

Okay! So I still have no internet at home and with uni starting back up I think I am going to have to resign myself to less frequent posting over here on Urban Submarine - I am thinking about three times a week (and whenever I see something too cool to not post). 

Anyway, yesterday I attended the Renew Australia "Making the Most of Empty Spaces" workshop presented by Renew Newcastle founder Marcus Westbury. While spending my day at the Bleeding Heart Gallery Space on Ann Street Brisbane I learnt some pretty awesome (and practical) things about creating temporary urban spaces and pop up shops in our cities. 

The Renew Australia group are best known for their super cool work as Renew Newcastle - effectively upgrading Newcastle from an unknown, deteriorating industrial city outside of Sydney to one of the top 10 hippest cities in the world. Acting as an "enabler" or as I like to think of it Space Curator, Renew Newcastle give "Inititavists" the opportunity to put their brilliant creative idea into action by putting them up rent free in a vacant urban space with a rolling 30 day license agreement. This process not only helps creatives get their idea up and running but creates activity in otherwise vacant areas, improving safety and vibrancy in the city centre. 

Renew Newcastle project map via Renew Newcastle

The most important elements I took away from this workshop were the need for practicality and clear solutions when starting any pop up venture and the importance of having elements like how you will organize insurance for projects understood from the beginning. I also learnt the importance of involving a large cross section of people from the community itself in order to create a self sustaining and successful pop up project, not just the people you personally think are amazing or the things you think should be there (I personally am very guilty of this one!).  

All in all it came down to initiative, passion and responsibility and it made me want to start my own venture straight away. If you are interested at all in this kind of thing I would definitely suggest you check out Renew Australia and all the awesome resources they have available on their site.