A photograph of volunteers constructing the Info Gap temporary outdoor display space on the corner of Peterborough and Colombo Streets.
Empty spaces down a street in Christchurch Central. The sites on the right are left by the demolition of buildings.
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.
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.
The Copy Centre operating out of a space at the ground floor of the UCSA building, adjacent to the food court.
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 PDF copy of pages 204-205 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'Four Corners Youth Space'. Page 204 photos: Irene Boles. Page 205 photos: Peter Walker, Three Chairs Photography. With permission from Student Volunteer Army Foundation.
February 22 marks 13 years since Christchurch's devastating 6.3 magnitude earthquake, and the urban recovery is still in progress.
The front of Christ Church Cathedral, braced and boarded up to limit further damage. The upper front wall has crumbled completely, exposing the inside space.
A photograph of the empty site on the corner of Peterborough and Colombo Streets where the Info Gap temporary outdoor display space will be constructed.
Looking down High Street, from the corner of Litchfield and Hereford Streets. In the foreground is the empty space where the Fishers' Building previously was.
Part of Mike Hewson's installation 'Homage To Lost Spaces' in the Cramner Courts building, a photograph of a young man working at a desk has been inserted into a gap in the building. The photographer comments, "Cranmer Courts in Christchurch, New Zealand was very badly damaged in the earthquakes that have rocked the City for the past two years. Mike Hewson thought he would try to bring life back into the buildings by putting photographs into the spaces where the doors and windows were. There was a month or so when no one seemed to know or admit who had put the pictures up, but it was done officially. It seems that though very badly damaged the buildings may get restored".
Damage to the Cranmer Courts. Mike Hewson's art installation, 'Homage To The Lost Spaces (Government Life Building Studio Series)' can be seen on the bottom right.
A photograph of part of the display structure for the Info Gap temporary outdoor display space. The structure is sitting behind the Gap Filler headquarters in Sydenham.
An initiative by the CPIT Faculty of Creative Industries to establish gallery and studio spaces for Christchurch artists following the Christchurch earthquake, by using flexible, adaptable cube modules.
Rhys Taylor from Living Streets Aotearoa and Coralie Winn of Gap Filler are helping to redefine the derelict and abandoned spaces produced by the destructive of the Christchurch's earthquakes.
Detail of the artwork 'Homage To The Lost Spaces (Government Life Building Studio Series' by Mike Hewson. These were installed on damaged buildings, this one being the Cranmer Courts.
A PDF copy of pages 180-181 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'Gap Golf'. Photos: Gap Filler
A photograph of two shipping containers on Colombo Street. One is being used as a temporary dairy, and the other as a display space for a frame and mirror shop.
A photograph of two shipping containers on Colombo Street. One is being used as a temporary dairy, and the other as a display space for a frame and mirror shop.
A photograph of two shipping containers on Colombo Street. One is being used as a temporary dairy, and the other as a display space for a frame and mirror shop.
Now empty and soon to be demolished - sadly for the family and all the customers. Fortunately all plant and stock saved and the search to go on for another suitable space
Today’s post continues the theme of the last one (a little), in terms of exploring the relationship between products and industries in the past and their connection with our lives today. It’s easy to scoff at some of the things … Continue reading →
A digitally manipulated photograph of the Gap Filler logo.
Before Christchurch had a morgue, the gruesome task of storing a dead body was left to Christchurch’s public hotels. On practical terms, they had the space to hold a coroner’s inquest a…
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch CBD was 'yarn-bombed' during the weekend using yarn and fabric pieces to brighten public areas and earthquake-affected spaces. Hope sign at Hereford and Manchester Streets".