Four kilometres of red fabric tape is being laid on footpaths in central Ōtautahi Christchurch, to guide people around the 2023 Season of SCAPE Public Art.

Six new temporary artworks will be in place by the end of Thursday 23 November on sites along the Ōtākaro Avon River, Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre, and Christchurch Casino.

In its 25^th anniversary year, SCAPE Public Art has chosen to support work by New Zealand artists who have never produced public art before. “It is a privilege to provide opportunities for these exciting artists and bring free-to-view public art to the people of Christchurch,” says SCAPE Executive Director Richard Aindow.

Works by artists Priscilla Rose Howe, Susu Tzu-Cheng, Te Ara Minhinnick, Tūī Matira Ranapiri-Ransfield, Maioha Kara, and Synthia Bahati are being released for the Season opening, all responding to the theme ‘The Gift,’ set by Managing Curator Tyson Campbell. Artists Ming Ranginui and Denise Porter-Howland will have their works released as additional gifts to Ōtautahi in the New Year.

Aindow says that SCAPE’s Season enables artists to create work that is often more ambitious than they could produce on their own and enables the public to engage with fresh ideas and innovative production methods.

Two murals and three sculptures by competition-winning, school students supported by SCAPE will be installed at Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre in time for the public opening at midday on Saturday (25 November).

SCAPE’s public art trail is marked by a red line on central city footpaths. Fold-out maps are available from Tūranga, The Arts Centre, and some cafés and galleries. A simple ‘Family Art Adventure’ challenge will also launch on Saturday, with a Grand Prize of a $200 voucher from the Tiny Toy Shop at The Arts Centre.

The season officially runs from 25 November 2023 to 17 February 2024.

SCAPE Public Art has been installing free-to-view public art in Ōtautahi Christchurch for 25 years. It is the largest producer of public art in Aotearoa New Zealand. SCAPE is a charitable trust, which operates thanks to numerous partnerships with industry and the generosity of patrons and sponsors, many of whom help in production of the artworks. The Platinum Sponsors of Season 2023 are: Christchurch City Council, Creative NZ, Rātā Foundation, and The Lion Foundation

New SCAPE Managing Curator bringing an inspiring new season of public art to Ōtautahi.

The artists for SCAPE Public Art Season 2023 have been announced, and the line-up promises to deliver a dynamic, youthful season of temporary artworks in central Ōtautahi  Christchurch.

SCAPE Public Art has confirmed the new season dates for 2023, a 12-week festival of free-to-view public art running from 25 November 2023 to 17 February 2024. The SCAPE season is a highlight in the cultural calendar in Ōtautahi, comprising eight new temporary artworks that will serve as the perfect incentive for residents and visitors to head out and explore their city this summer.

Season 2023 is the first in Tyson Campbell’s three-year tenure as SCAPE’s new Managing Curator. Campbell hand-picked each of the eight season artists for their unique interpretations of the season theme, The Gift.

Read the full media release here, Word doc or PDF.

Season 2023 artists from top left: Ming Ranginui, Te Ara Minhinnick, Synthia Bahati, Susu, Tūi Matira Ranapiri-Ransfield, Denise Porter-Howland, Priscilla Rose Howe, Maioha Kara

Auckland-based artist Brett Graham (Ngāti Koroki Kahukura, Tainui) spent several months hard at work in a tent in Henderson with his friend Steve Woodward, grinding and chipping away at a nine-tonne piece of Norwegian Arctic White granite for his new sculpture, Erratic. Commissioned by Christchurch City Council and produced in association with SCAPE Public Art, the artwork is being installed along the Ōtakaro Avon River, opposite the statue of Robert Falcon Scott.

This new sculpture speaks to the journey of another Antarctic explorer, Roald Amundsen, whose skill and use of indigenous expertise in reaching the South Pole were largely ignored by the British press in favour of Scott. It takes the form of a large, horizontal, rounded piece of granite, imported from Amundsen’s homeland of Norway. The 99 mounds on its surface, unfurling in a spiral from the centre, reference the number of days that Amundsen and his men took to journey to the South Pole and back. The design of the mounds also draws from indigenous calendars and the Inuit tradition of building stone mounds to mark territories.

Indigenous peoples and issues are a strong guiding force through Graham’s art. Through his Māori whakapapa, he feels affiliated with a global network of non-Western people, and his work consciously engages with indigenous issues and how they are affected by the history of imperialism.

“I am intrigued by how history chooses to memorialise events and historical figures, while forgetting others,” Graham says. “Amundsen was the actual ‘victor’ in the ‘race’ to the South Pole, but because he wasn’t British, he was overlooked, even vilified. His genius in using the techniques he learned from Inuit communities on how to survive the extreme cold was seen as unsporting.”

“We welcome Brett Graham’s quietly monumental work Erratic to the city’s growing public art collection,” says Public Advisory Group Chair Anthony Wright. “With its glacial and Antarctic connections it speaks to the natural and human forces that have shaped Te Waipounamu and adds to the city’s Antarctic gateway narrative.”

Erratic is a sculpture that ruminates on the very nature of memorials, and how only select elements of history are seen as worth memorialising. The title of the artwork takes inspiration from glacial erratics: rocks that have been carried vast distances by glaciers and deposited somewhere far from their point of origin. It is also a play on words for the way the British Empire, including the Commonwealth, have chosen to remember history.

“We are delighted to be the producers of another permanent public artwork for Ōtautahi,” says SCAPE Public Art Executive Director Deborah McCormick. “Brett’s work has such an incredible story to tell and carries such weight both culturally and artistically. Erratic will make a fabulous addition to our city’s legacy artwork collection.”

Erratic is being unveiled on 11 March.

This artwork is made possible thanks to the support of Naylor Love, Cosgroves, Treetech, Beca, Ōtākaro Limited, Anderson Lloyd and Christchurch City Council.

SCAPE Public Art announced today its Executive Director, Deborah McCormick, has resigned from her role of Executive Director effective 31 March 2023 after her highly successful 25 years at the helm.

SCAPE will be recruiting for a Creative Director to join the team before Deborah’s departure. Deborah will work with her successor to transition SCAPE Public Art into a new era for its next 25 years.

SCAPE is in the best shape in terms of arts and business ready to launch the new platform and the future. Deborah will leave SCAPE in a very strong position for future growth and sustainability.

“It has been a tremendous privilege to have served in this role and deliver so much creative inspiration for my home city Christchurch and New Zealand. I believe that this is the right point in my career to take on new challenges,” Deborah said.

“Next year will celebrate 25 years of SCAPE Public Art and acknowledging Deborah’s role in overseeing the installation of an amazing portfolio of both permanent and temporary public art,” said Michael Fulton, Chair of SCAPE Public Art Trust. “She has provided outstanding leadership through difficult and challenging times such as the Christchurch earthquakes and Covid. Deborah has been a key figure in the first 25 years of SCAPE, and the board wish her well with her future career, knowing she will remain a strong supporter of SCAPE and our next 25 years.”

Next week’s launch of SCAPE Public Art Season 2022 brings works from eight local and international artists to the city. Each artist’s work will showcase their unique interpretation of this year’s theme, Sweat Equity, a compelling conclusion to Managing Curator Jamie Hanton’s overall vision of Fictions, which has tied together SCAPE Public Art’s seasons from 2020-2022.

SCAPE Public Art Season 2022 Sweat Equity opens on Saturday 5 November, bringing artworks from eight local and international artists to Ōtautahi for the public to enjoy until 29 January 2023. This free annual event is a highlight of Christchurch’s cultural calendar, inviting its residents and visitors to soak in the sun, wander the city and discover the delights of inspiring, intriguing and sometimes-surprising works of public art this summer.

The opening weekend on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 November is packed with special events to kick off the season. Hye Rim Lee’s new animation artwork, White Rose, will be on display on the large outdoor event screen at Te Pae for the opening weekend only.

Hye Rim’s animation and limited edition digital photographic prints will also be on display for a limited time at SCAPE Public Art’s new pop-up gallery in The Arts Centre Old Registry Building, along with the season artworks from YOUNG-HAE CHANG HEAVY INDUSTRIES. These innovative digital artworks are available to view between 11am and 3pm, Wednesday to Saturday, until Friday 16 December.

The first of Managing Curator Jamie Hanton’s free guided walking tours is on Saturday 5 November, where participants will get background information on the artworks and artists, as well as an inside perspective on the production process and Jamie’s vision for the season. The walk starts at The Piano and takes approximately 1.5 hours. Bookings required.

Also on Saturday, SCAPE Public Art celebrates the launch of artworks from the talented young winners of this year’s Re:ACTIVATE Aspiring Artists competition. The winning students have worked with SCAPE and its industry partners to produce their designs for public display in Hagley Park, and on Saturday, SCAPE and the junior and senior winners of the Re:ACTIVATE Sculpture category will be on site to celebrate the completion and installation of their works. The competition has been extended this year to include a mural category thanks to generous support from Resene. The two winning mural designs will be on display from Saturday 19 November.

Click here to download the full media release (PDF)

Click here to download the full media release (MS Word)