Reuben Woods – Watch This Space

Offline – An Interview with Sam Emerson

“Your favourite artist’s favourite artists” – it might seem braggadocious as a tagline, but in the case of Sam Emerson of Offline Collective, it reflects the way his work amplifies other creatives – from providing the atmospheric and evocative backdrops for musicians and festival stages, to his collaborations with artists in an increasing number of public projection-based installations. Deeply immersed in his craft and constantly exploring new ideas, Emerson continues to evolve his work technically and thematically, from audio reactivity to expressions of cultural identity. His recent public works, Hurihanga, produced with Flare Ōtautahi Street Art Festival and The Christ Church Cathedral, and Ruruku, produced with graffiti artist Drows for Tīrama Mai 2025, have suggested new possibilities for urban art, transforming architecture with striking sound and moving image, alternately beautiful and fiery. Discussing these works and his career trajectory, our conversation with Sam Emerson was wide-ranging and revealing of art’s ability to transcend defined parameters…

We Are Still Here – Pim van Duin @ The Art Hole

We Are Still Here is a simple concept — a figure dressed in a rudimentary sheet-slash-ghost costume photographed in locations around Ōtautahi. Yet in all its simplicity, Pim van Duin’s collection of striking black and white photographs is one my favourite exhibitions of 2025 — simultaneously charming, playful, evocative and haunting. Much like the ghost costume used in the project (also on display alongside the photographs and publication), We Are Still Here is layered. Surveying and inspecting the photographs, all shot in the existing lighting of the after-dark locations, it was hard not to be gripped with a sense of bittersweet whimsy, like looking at those creepy old Halloween photos, where the line between terrifying and cute is hard to locate. Stopping by The Art Hole, we spoke with Pim about We Are Still Here‘s origins, the process and the unexpected poignancy that a ghost costume can add to an environment…

TUNE! with Jonny Waters

We welcome Ōhinehou Lyttelton based artist Jonny Waters as our latest contributor to TUNE! Jonny is one of the founding figures behind Ōtepoti Hip Hop Hustle – a celebration of the culture’s various realms, and can sometimes (maybe) be found spinning tracks at a certain port village spot, so it is no surprise music is a vital ingredient in his creative profile. But it isn’t just hip hop – like his visual art practice, Jonny’s musical influences extend beyond beats, into the energy of punk, the atmosphere of indie, and a selection of classics. Read on to discover his album selections as our artist-created playlist continues to grow…

Roll Call – A Survey of Ōtautahi Urban Art and Artists

Watch This Space, in partnership with Art Walls Christchurch and The Welder is excited to present Roll Call – A Survey of Ōtautahi Urban Art and Artists – a huge group show featuring more than 60 local creatives and bringing the energy of the streets to the walls of The Welder!

The Little Street Art Festival 2024 – A Recap of Aotearoa’s Most Unique Street Art Festival!

With the countdown now beginning for the 2025 Little Street Art Festival, we thought it was a perfect time to recap the 2024 incarnation of the little festival with a big heart! Staged in December 2024 (which in itself is hard to fathom in the midst of our grey, bleak winter), the 2024 Little Street Art Festival was the second staging of the event, and presented a new roster of artists and activations – bringing fresh ideas around urban creativity to Ōtautahi – expanding the discourse around how art can exist in our streets, a reminder that small can be impactful and artists need not be restricted solely to the 2D format of muralism. Avoiding a curatorial theme, the 2024 Little Street Art Festival embraced diversity of narratives and materials, opening up new possibilities for artists and exposing audiences to fresh uses of urban space.

Prints and Beats – Dark Ballad x Gothic Crash @ Flying Nun Records

On Friday 18th June, Ōtautahi’s ‘master of the dark arts’ Dark Ballad will present a range of new works, including prints and one-of-a-kind hand-printed tees, in an exhibition at Flying Nun Records’ new store at 143 Tuam Street. Alongside the visual works by Dark Ballad, DJ Crash Gothic will also spin a musical set – making this a perfect way to warm up in the midst of a Christchurch winter! Dark Ballad has been building his reputation as a visual force, with his striking print work, from posters in the streets to gallery pieces and record covers, recognisable for their strong graphic qualities and evocative imagery. This presentation of new work, including a range of collaborations with local creatives, is sure to be fire!

Prints and Beats – Dark Ballad X Crash Gothic @ Flying Nun Records, 5pm-7pm, Friday 18 June, 2025

Chromatic Oscillations – An Interview with Drez

Good things take time – that’s what they say, anyway. It’s hard to believe that it was mid-March when we sat down with Melbourne artist Drez to reflect on his whirlwind visit to Ōtautahi for the Flare Street Art Festival, where does the time go? With a lot going on, it has taken us a while to finally publish our conversation (conducted in a car in Phillipstown just before Drez departed for the airport!), but we know it is worth the wait! After getting to know Drez as he painted his striking mural on St Asaph Street, it was a privilege to take the chance to dive a bit deeper into his practice, his influences and the comparative cultural and historic landscapes of Aotearoa and Australia. A thoughtful and reflective presence, Drez reveals the importance that he places on his work’s ability to engage its audience through colour and form, eliciting a direct connection between art and experience…

Flare Ōtautahi Street Art Festival 2025 – A Photo Essay Recap…

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!

Lighting an Icon for Puanga Matariki – Flare Ōtautahi Street Art Festival, Offline Collective and Christ Church Cathedral Present Hurihanga

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.

Ghost Stories: Ghostcat’s Ghosts on Every Corner Project and the Memories of a City

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.