New Works Coming Up – Watch This Space

Jack Bromell – From Busselton to Brighton…

Perth-based artist Jack Bromell’s work is inspired by the natural world around us, elegant birds in flight, the patterns formed by flora and fauna, the sweeping curves of lizards. But these depictions go beyond record, there is a strong sense of symbolism, of mythology, of interconnection. Painted in various sizes (from huge panoramas to depictions of postage stamps) and with subtle colour palettes, Bromell’s murals transform public spaces by using nature to speak to both our surrounding environments and our shared conditions and histories. It is no surprise then that he found ample inspiration while travelling Aotearoa. Watch This Space was able to help secure a wall for Jack to produce a work here in Ōtautahi, a large Kahawai fish that exemplifies his confident, illustrative linework, presented as an almost scientific diagram in white lines on the black wall. The oversized production inviting the audience to acknowledge the beauty of our native animal life. After finishing his mural in New Brighton, we sat down for a chat to discuss his roots in Busselton, just outside of Perth, his trajectory as an artist, and New Zealand’s lack of native mammals.

Reclamation – Ruka @ The Giant Cans

The Giant Cans on St Asaph have served as a free legal space for people to create and leave their mark – whether a simple name or message, or something more adventurous and stylised. But alongside the free wall status, one of the cylinders stands as a ‘commission can’ with artists invited to produce a cohesive take over – providing inspiration and pushing new ideas. For the most recent commission, Ōtautahi artist Ruka has explored the merging of graffiti and Toi Māori, an expression of his own creative trajectory. The circular canvas has been adorned with a sprawling, interlocking map of koru and letterforms, with shifting transparencies and an evocation of the iridescence of a paua shell. We sat down with Ruka to discuss the relationship between Toi Māori and graffiti, his exploration of his Māoritanga through art and where his art might go next.

Shaun Devenney – If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry

From the small Scottish town of Paisley, just west of Glasgow, via Melbourne’s iconic Everfresh Studio, Shaun Devenney travelled a long way to find himself painting in Ōtautahi. Establishing a strong reputation for his thoughtful, painterly ruminations on life, a kind of acerbic social realism informed by his Scottish sense of humour and an observational world view, Devenney’s deft brushwork and compositions are undeniably unique. His work is a reminder of the diverse potential of urban painting, eschewing conventions and traditions in favour of an aesthetic that is equally informed by the studio as the streets. With the assistance of Life in Vacant Spaces, we were lucky enough to help Shaun secure a wall to leave a legacy of his trip to Ōtautahi, and in doing so, we were able to spend some time with the artist. In between painting sessions, we sat down with Shaun for a chat about his travels, his trajectory as an artist, the distinctions between the streets and the studio, and the increasingly confusing world we face…

Charles and Janine Williams X Drows – Mā Te Huruhuru Ka Rere Te Manu

On the sunny morning of the first day of May, a vibrant new mural by Ōtautahi’s own Drows and Tāmaki Makaurau powerhouses Charles and Janine Williams was unveiled to mark World Smokefree May 2026 – the collaborative work a powerful expression of how our hauora (health and wellbeing) is shaped by the support of the communities surrounding us.

Spotlight 3.0 – with Hambone

With Daylight Savings now ended and the nights longer, it’s a perfect time to celebrate the final work of the Spotlight 3.0 series — Hambone’s tattoo-inspired, rotating menagerie of urban animals.

The Things We Love To See…

At the end of March, we were stoked to pop along to the Giant Cans Space on St Asaph Street and check out a new collaborative production going up, created by our mate Jonny Waters and his Toi Ora art therapy group from Purapura Whetu.

A Home Away From Home – Jay ‘Daken’ Skelton at Ronald McDonald House

For over 20 years, Ronald McDonald House Christchurch, located on Cashel Street, has provided a ‘home-away-from-home’ for families travelling to Ōtautahi for medical treatment. A welcoming space for whānau to find respite from hospital rooms, Ronald McDonald House provides warm hospitality in tough times, a truly vital service that removes further stress for families already dealing with so much.

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.