It is hard to believe that three months have flown by since the 2025 Flare Ōtautahi Street Art Festival coloured our city’s walls with a flurry of activity and energy! A triumphant return for the mural festival, the 2025 iteration drew huge crowds, enthusiastic media coverage and, of course, a collection of impressive artworks that further cement Ōtautahi Christchurch as the urban art destination of Aotearoa. From colourful abstractions, striking portraits, and bold typography to sky-high surrealism, complex graffiti and poignant cultural narratives, Flare covered a range of bases stylistically and thematically. With more than 19 large-scale works and a series of activations, Flare 2025 was indicative of a city completely enamoured with turning our streets into canvasses and embracing possibility!
We thought that with the cold months now well and truly here, it would be an ideal time to bring some fire and warm some souls with a reminder of Flare’s goodness – so join us for a little stroll through memory lane with a visual recap of Flare Ōtautahi Street Art Festival 2025!
Dcypher’s Urban Abstract was a stop on a Watch This Space guided tour… As was Jessie Rawcliffe’s Ophelia, where the artist talked to the tour group.The tour also took in the massive work by Jacob Yikes, Aotearoa’s tallest mural.Haser’s Manawa Pou, Manawa Ora in progress.The master, Dr Berst in action….Drez’s St Asaph Street work is a stunning addition. Jen Heads’ window installation at The Drifter…Jessie Rawcliffe’s stuinning Ophelia, Colombo Street.YSEK’s studio Ghibli inspired work on Worcester Boulevard.YSEK’s work featured a collaboration with fellow FSA crew member Seven Eleven.Ling’s Elias, May and Kairau on the side of Child Sister.Fluro’s I Look To The Hills is an evocative landmark framed by the imposing Te Kaha.Haser, Fluro, Berst, Jessie Rawcliffe and Ling joined the 2025 Artist Panel.Everything kicked off with the FSA X DTR X BRS Production Wall on Colombo Street. Always insightful, Berst chatted with tour groups. Haser’s Manawa Pou, Manawa Ora completed.Nick Lowry completed two works for Flare, highlighting his prodigious output…Nick Lowry’s second wall, in progress…FOUL from the Flare Market Graffiti Wall…TWICE from the Flare Market Graffiti Wall…Miiekes, Klaudia Bartos, Hambone, Tom Kerr and Ekos on the Flare Market Tattoo Wall…Jessie Rawcliffe and Devos on the Flare Market Wall…Ling and Berst at the Flare Market Wall.Trystan Cutts and Kyla K and Xact’s collab at the Flare Market Wall.Pest5 for the TMD Crew Jam, Sydenham.
Photo credits: Centuri Chan, Reuben Woods
For specific locations – remember to check out our ever-growing map!
As part of Ōtautahi’s Matariki celebrations, the city’s most iconic heritage building has been illuminated by a powerful projection created by the Offline Collective’s Sam Emerson (Ngāi Tahu) in collaboration with collective members Michael Duggan and Charlie Pitts. Presented by Flare Ōtautahi Street Art Festival, the Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Project and Offline Collective, Hurihanga transforms the Cathedral’s exterior into a canvas of light, honouring stories of renewal, remembrance, and whakapapa through breathtaking visuals and mātauranga Māori.
An evocative public activation that invites pause, wonder, reflection, conversation and connection, Hurihanga adds meaningful layers to the famed Cathedral to reflect Ōtautahi’s navigation of our past, present and future to reveal our connections to place and each other in recognition of Matariki.
Offline Collective is an Ōtautahi based creative studio specialising in motion graphics, live visuals and immersive installations. Blending design, art and technology, Offline Collective craft bold, immersive visual experiences that integrate cultural narratives into contemporary digital art across a variety of platforms.
Led by Sam Emerson, one of Aotearoa’s most respected digital artists and producers, Offline Collective created Hurihanga to reflect ancestral stories and the significance of Puaka, the star to which Te Waipounamu looks for Matariki. The brightest star in Tautoru (Orion’s Belt), in Māori mythology Puaka’s appearance means Te Waka o Raki is rising to bring loved ones to their final resting place in the celestial kingdom, a reminder to acknowledge those who came before us, but also to celebrate the present, and to dream for the future. Hurihanga harnesses this wairua and draws on the symbolism of the cycles of time, of wind, rain, lightning and the growing, harvesting and storage of food, to create a sprawling, transformative story that takes viewers on a journey far beyond the physical setting.
Suggesting the power of art and the diverse ways we can creatively activate our shared landscape, through the powerful lens of te Aō Māori imagery and storytelling, Hurihanga is a must see! Explore a new way of seeing the heart of the city this winter with this striking collaboration!
Hurihanga has been made possible with the support of a number of donors who supported the Boosted campaign – highlighting the power of community!
I might be a bit biased (Disclaimer: I was the author of the Ghosts on Every Corner book and have been involved in the project since it’s initial genesis), but it is hard to go past Ghosts on Every Corner as one of the most impactful art projects to emerge from Ōtautahi in 2025. Numbers generally don’t lie – tentative counts suggests more than 10,000 people visited the Pūmanawa Gallery space at the Arts Centre in the five week run that Ghostcat’s scratch-built recreations were on display, a huge figure for an independent project. Additionally, the book documenting and expanding the project, featuring striking photography by the super talented Dave Richards, has proven popular, selling more than 700 copies on pre-order before being placed on the bookshelves of retail outlets. It would be fair to say that Ghosts on Every Corner struck a chord.
Wizards Arcade (photo: Dave Richards)
What made this project so impactful? The foundations are, of course, found in Ghostcat’s incredible ability to craft his work as intricately detailed, seemingly lived-in constructions, weathered and layered in a way that invites deep consideration and a sense of familiar experience. Despite their small size, they feel like places we can inhabit, they feel real and are tangible and tactile, a quality that is increasingly important in a world dominated by the potential of digital and AI-created imagery. To witness people scanning these works of art, leaning in, invited to remember their connection to these places, was to see the way people associated with the these works of art and their purpose.
The second layer was obviously the role of nostalgia, and encouraging people to consider the role these places, tattoo parlours, record stores, video game arcades, cafes, shaped our lives, collectively and individually. People have remarked about the way Ghosts on Every Corner allowed them to reminisce, but also to reconcile their connection to place, to properly farewell these places after losing many in a very abrupt manner (it is worth pointing out that not all of these places were destroyed in the earthquakes – some had already evolved into new forms by 2010/2011, affected by forces of commerce and social trends). Countless visitors recounted their personal attachments to place, both those in the exhibition and locations beyond the show’s scope. This reflected the project’s intention to be both highly specific and yet, universally evocative. While Ghosts on Every Corner spotlit local memories, it also can be considered as a lens to reflect on the corner stores, the food joints, the video stores, that everyone knew growing up – not just in Ōtautahi, but in any town or city across Aotearoa and the world. Ghosts on Every Corner acknowledges that places shape us and give us identity and community. Change does not have to be expedited by a natural disaster, change is inevitable, sometimes gradual, sometimes internal, but always inevitable.
Echo Records (Photo: Dave Richards)
This sense of connection is another key layer to Ghosts on Every Corner. The project was built upon conversation, upon a recognition of community. Whether it was friends, family, workplaces, sub-cultures, or disparate crowds, the stories of Ghosts on Every Corner revel in the coming together of people. Reflecting this, the project was shaped by input from a wide range of people – from suggestions of places for Ghostcat to build, to the stories and recollections gathered for the book’s chapters. Ghosts on Every Corner was created by a larger community. People have seen themselves as part of the creation, they have felt connected to the outcomes. This layered quality, this ability to connect with people is where Ghosts on Every Corner gains its potency. A touching, celebratory project, it has made people smile, cry, dream and talk. That seems like a truly valuable impact.
The Ghosts on Every Corner book is now available in selected book stores.
The legendary FILTH Crew are the latest artists to transform the ‘permanent’ Giant Cans on St Asaph Street! In late May, Morks, Lurq and Tepid added some fresh funk with their collaborative production that references so many of the things that have shaped this long-running, one-of-a-kind creative collective. While the cylindrical cans present a unique proposition and challenge, the FILTH Crew have long made use of unusual surfaces and environments – from city walls, to trains, to the surroundings of Te Wai Pounamu’s rivers and plains. In their work for the Giant Cans, these influences are made clear, as we found out from Morks:
“Our concept for the cans was to match all three cans. We wanted to represent the South Island, using the Southern Alps and Canterbury Plains. We chose the colour blue for the ‘FILTHS’ signature font up at the top of the cans, to represent the Southern Alps, which appear inside the letters. Our pieces’ colour schemes were based on and influenced by pounamu, being endemic to the South Island. We brought in elements of the West Coast, Fiordland, Western Southland and the Nelson Districts as well. We added the harakeke overlapping the pieces to bring all the elements of South onto the cans.” The effect is lively, meaningful and evocative of the surrounding environment just beyond the city’s doorstep. The production feels proudly familiar.
While the circular form was challenging, the cans also presented an opportunity to think around how to encourage the viewer to look at the overall picture. Morks continues: “We started from the top and worked our way towards the bottom. The round surface was challenging. We wanted our pieces to wrap around the whole can to create a flow. When you stand on a certain angle, the Southern Alps align like they would in real life.”
The work brings together so many elements that have influenced the FILTHS Crew over their long history – identifying their unique status as a collective that looks a little bit differently at the world around them. “For 25 years we have been consistently active on the rail system, from wagons, trackside, bridges, stations. You see our names. Staying consistent gives us the ability to replicate our process of getting up with the same level and quality over and over again, consistency is what transforms average into excellence.” That consistency has ensured that the FILTHS’ legacy is widely respected.
Marking their lengthy existence, the crew has exciting plans for their quarter century milestone: “The FILTHS’ 25 Years as a Crew Exhibition will give an insight into the history of South Island graffiti. The show will present like a timeline, or history lesson. There will be a lot of art on display, from early sketches, photos, drawings, limited edition t-shirts, model trains, and a feature wall of original 6×4 photos of 500 Spacerunner photos that have never been seen.” This approach will ensure the exhibition is a must-see – stay tuned for more information!
In the meantime, check out the FILTHS’ contribution to the Giant Cans on St Asaph and get inspired!
