Ravenscar House Museum holds an extraordinary, previously private art collection. The new building has been gifted to Christchurch by art collectors Susan Wakefield and her late husband Jim. The art remains in the ownership of the Ravenscar Trust. Artists in the collection include Colin McCahon, Bill Sutton and Frances Hodgkins. The treasures were previously in the Wakefield's Christchurch home which suffered irreparable earthquake damage. They're now displayed in the purpose-designed and built Ravenscar House Museum in the city's Arts precinct. The story of the art and artefacts is told in in the book - Ravenscar House: A Biography, written by Christchurch journalist and writer Sally Blundell.
An entry from Ruth Gardner's Blog for 16 March 2014 entitled, "Nouveau Art".
A photograph of street art painted on a wall. The artwork shows a tui and kowhai flowers.
A photograph of unfinished art work using Maori motifs at the Community Law Centre on Madras Street.
A photograph of street art on Pilgrim Place, taken from across the railway lines, through the Colombo Street overbridge.
A photograph of street art near Fitzgerald Avenue. The artist is Benjamin Work.
A photograph of tag writing and street art on the wall of a building on Fitzgerald Avenue.
A photograph of tag writing and street art on the wall of a building located on Fitzgerald Avenue.
A photograph of street art near Fitzgerald Avenue. The artist is Benjamin Work.
A photograph of street art on the side of a building between Brighton Mall and Hawke Street.
A photograph of street art on a building between Brighton Mall and Beresford Street.
A photograph of street art on Pilgrim Place, taken from across the railway lines, through the Colombo Street overbridge.
A photograph of a detail of street art near City Mall. The artist is BMD.
A photograph of street art on Pilgrim Place, taken from across the railway lines, through the Colombo Street overbridge.
A photograph of street art in the Addington Saleyards, taken before the Canterbury earthquakes. The artist is Fiasco.
A photograph of street art on Ferry Road. The photographer attributes the work to APEK and JFK.
A photograph of street art on a building between Brighton Mall and Beresford Street.
A photograph of street art on the back wall of the AJ Creative Glass building on Fitzgerald Avenue.
A photograph of street art on the public toilets on Shaw Avenue.
A photograph of street art on the wall of a building between Brighton Mall and Hawke Street.
This thesis considers the presence and potential readings of graffiti and street art as part of the wider creative public landscape of Christchurch in the wake of the series of earthquakes that significantly disrupted the city physically and socially. While documenting a specific and unprecedented period of time in the city’s history, the prominence of graffiti and street art throughout the constantly changing landscape has also highlighted their popularity as increasingly entrenched additions to urban and suburban settings across the globe. In post-quake Christchurch, graffiti and street art have often displayed established tactics, techniques and styles while exploring and exposing the unique issues confronting this disrupted environment, illustrating both a transposable nature and the entwined relationship with the surrounding landscape evident in the conception of these art forms. The post-quake city has afforded graffiti and street art the opportunity to engage with a range of concepts: from the re-activation and re-population of the empty and abandoned spaces of the city, to commentaries on specific social and political issues, both angry and humorous, and notably the reconsideration of entrenched and evolving traditions, including the distinction between guerrilla and sanctioned work. The examples of graffiti and street art within this work range from the more immediate post-quake appearance of art in a group of affected suburbs, including the increasingly empty residential red-zone, to the use of the undefined spaces sweeping the central city, and even inside the Canterbury Museum, which housed the significant street art exhibition Rise in 2013-2014. These settings expose a number of themes, both distinctive and shared, that relate to both the post-disaster landscape and the concerns of graffiti and street art as art movements unavoidably entangled with public space.
A photograph of boxes of supplies inside the Christchurch Art Gallery on Montreal Street. The Art Gallery was used as the temporary headquarters for Civil Defence after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
A photograph of members of Civil Defence working at the Christchurch Art Gallery. The Art Gallery was set up as the temporary headquarters for Civil Defence after the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A photograph of members of Civil Defence working at the Christchurch Art Gallery. The Art Gallery was set up as the temporary headquarters for Civil Defence after the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A photograph of street art on a clothing bin on Battersea Street. Part of the street art reads, "Prove ANSR". Above this are two doves on either side of a yellow flower. One of the doves is light pink and the other is white.
A photograph of street art in Brighton Mall, between Beresford Street and Hawke Street. The artist is Drowsy.
A photograph of street art on the side of a house. The artwork shows two tui watching over their eggs.
A photograph taken from Manchester Street, of street art near City Mall. The artist is BMD.
A photograph of street art on the wall of a building in Sydenham. The artwork is signed by 'Morpork'.
A photograph of street art on Fitzgerald Avenue, near The Fitz cafe. The photographer attributes the work to Freak.