Street art has played a major role in bringing life back to Christchurch post-Earthquakes. A major player has been Watch This Space. They are a charitable trust established almost 10 years ago that organises and maintains public art projects in Christchurch, updates their interactive map helping people explore the city, and runs tours. Dr Reuben Woods is the creative director of Watch this Space.
A photograph of the public launch event for The Wet Issue by Freerange Press. Attendees are watching a water-inspired visual and sonic artwork by Olivia Webb and Noel Meek. The event was held at Space Academy as part of FESTA 2014.
A photograph of the public launch event for The Wet Issue by Freerange Press. Attendees are watching a water-inspired visual and sonic artwork by Olivia Webb and Noel Meek. The event was held at Space Academy as part of FESTA 2014.
In recent work on commons and commoning, scholars have argued that we might delink the practice of commoning from property ownership, while paying attention to modes of governance that enable long-term commons to emerge and be sustained. Yet commoning can also occur as a temporary practice, in between and around other forms of use. In this article we reflect on the transitional commoning practices and projects enabled by the Christchurch post-earthquake organisation Life in Vacant Spaces, which emerged to connect and mediate between landowners of vacant inner city demolition sites and temporary creative or entrepreneurial users. While these commons are often framed as transitional or temporary, we argue they have ongoing reverberations changing how people and local government in Christchurch approach common use. Using the cases of the physical space of the Victoria Street site “The Commons” and the virtual space of the Life in Vacant Spaces website, we show how temporary commoning projects can create and sustain the conditions of possibility required for nurturing commoner subjectivities. Thus despite their impermanence, temporary commoning projects provide a useful counter to more dominant forms of urban development and planning premised on property ownership and “permanent” timeframes, in that just as the physical space of the city being opened to commoning possibilities, so too are the expectations and dispositions of the city’s inhabitants, planners, and developers.
In recent work on commons and commoning, scholars have argued that we might delink the practice of commoning from property ownership, while paying attention to modes of governance that enable long-term commons to emerge and be sustained. Yet commoning can also occur as a temporary practice, in between and around other forms of use. In this article we reflect on the transitional commoning practices and projects enabled by the Christchurch post-earthquake organisation Life in Vacant Spaces, which emerged to connect and mediate between landowners of vacant inner city demolition sites and temporary creative or entrepreneurial users. While these commons are often framed as transitional or temporary, we argue they have ongoing reverberations changing how people and local government in Christchurch approach common use. Using the cases of the physical space of the Victoria Street site “The Commons” and the virtual space of the Life in Vacant Spaces website, we show how temporary commoning projects can create and sustain the conditions of possibility required for nurturing commoner subjectivities. Thus despite their impermanence, temporary commoning projects provide a useful counter to more dominant forms of urban development and planning premised on property ownership and “permanent” timeframes, in that just as the physical space of the city being opened to commoning possibilities, so too are the expectations and dispositions of the city’s inhabitants, planners, and developers.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The city library administration is moving into this work space near the new bus exchange".
A photograph of an artwork on the side of a damaged building, part of the Christchurch Art Gallery's "Outer Spaces" programme.
A document describing the use of a remotely operated hydraulic jaw crusher to avoid the need to make confined space entries.
The Copy Centre operating out of a space at the ground floor of the UCSA building, adjacent to the food court.
A colourful mural and patterns on the road brighten up an empty space on Oxford Terrace near the Re:Start mall.
Damage to the Coastguard Building in Kaiapoi. One of the concrete panels on the footpath has lifted, revealing an empty space underneath.
A photograph of the large-scale puppet titled The Merchant. The puppet is in the Free Theatre warehouse space on Lismore Street.
A photograph of a barbeque brunch and public talk opposite the former Christchurch City Council offices on Tuam Street. The design team from Sustainable Habitat Challenge discussed the build of a sub-consent, off-grid office for Life in Vacant Spaces Trust. The event was part of FESTA 2012.
A photograph of the public launch event for The Wet Issue by Freerange Press. The event was held at Space Academy as part of FESTA 2014. It was accompanied by a water-inspired visual and sonic artwork by Olivia Webb and Noel Meek.
A photograph of the public launch event for The Wet Issue by Freerange Press. The event was held at Space Academy as part of FESTA 2014. It was accompanied by a water-inspired visual and sonic artwork by Olivia Webb and Noel Meek.
A photograph of The Wet Issue by Freerange Press, on display at the public launch event. The event was held at Space Academy as part of FESTA 2014. It was accompanied by a water-inspired visual and sonic artwork by Olivia Webb and Noel Meek.
A photograph of the public launch event for The Wet Issue by Freerange Press. The event was held at Space Academy as part of FESTA 2014. It was accompanied by a water-inspired visual and sonic artwork by Olivia Webb and Noel Meek.
A photograph of the public launch event for The Wet Issue by Freerange Press. The attendees are watching a water-inspired visual and sonic artwork by Olivia Webb and Noel Meek. The event was held at Space Academy as part of FESTA 2014.
A photograph of the public launch event for The Wet Issue by Freerange Press. The attendees are watching a water-inspired visual and sonic artwork by Olivia Webb and Noel Meek. The event was held at Space Academy as part of FESTA 2014.
A photograph of the public launch event for The Wet Issue by Freerange Press. The attendees are watching a water-inspired visual and sonic artwork by Olivia Webb and Noel Meek. The event was held at Space Academy as part of FESTA 2014.
A photograph of the public launch event for The Wet Issue by Freerange Press. People are gathered to watch a water-inspired visual and sonic artwork by Olivia Webb and Noel Meek. The event was held at Space Academy as part of FESTA 2014.
A photograph of the public launch event for The Wet Issue by Freerange Press. The attendees are watching a water-inspired visual and sonic artwork by Olivia Webb and Noel Meek. The event was held at Space Academy as part of FESTA 2014.
A photograph of section of a mural on the side of the Shoreline Fitness Centre on Hawke Street. This section contains a large bubble with the message, "Space. Occupy Equality Street", inside. Next to this is another bubble with the message, "Love", painted inside.
A photograph of the public launch event for The Wet Issue by Freerange Press. The attendees are watching a water-inspired visual and sonic artwork by Olivia Webb and Noel Meek. The event was held at Space Academy as part of FESTA 2014.
A partially demolished building on Durham Street. The side wall has been demolished, exposing the inside space. A digger sits amongst the rubble.
A time-lapse video showing pedestrians using the temporary walkway through Cathedral Square. The video was filmed over the space of an hour.
A photograph of people looking at displays in the Info Gap temporary outdoor display space on the corner of Peterborough and Colombo Streets.
A photograph of people looking at displays in the Info Gap temporary outdoor display space on the corner of Peterborough and Colombo Streets.
A photograph of people gathered around Julia Morison's public sculpture, titled Tree Houses for Swamp Dwellers, during the event Small Rooms for Open Spaces, which was part of FESTA 2013. The event was an opportunity for the public to hear more about Morison's work and took place on site.
A photograph of Mike Hewson's installation, 'Prop Hide', on the south wall of the former Trinity Congregational Church. The installation is part of a series titled, 'Homage to the Lost Spaces'. The building housed the Octagon Live restaurant between 2006 and 2010.