Turn your art into a real sculpture

SCAPE’s Aspiring Artist competition invites rangatahi to design public art. Winning designs will be produced full-size by SCAPE and its industry partners for display at Tūranga (Christchurch’s central library).

Anyone aged 5-18 years old in Waitaha Canterbury can enter.

For 2026, entrants must design a sculpture that responds to one of SCAPE’s permanent public artworks. There are 18 in Ōtautahi Christchurch and one in Rolleston to choose from. You can find out more about them all here.

Entries close on 3 July 2026.

Read on for details about:

• what you need to submit
• how you can submit
• timeframes
• what happens if you win
• the theme
• resources for teachers
• asking questions + getting us to visit your school

Scroll all the way down to get the online submission form!

What you need to submit

Your name, year group, school, and contact details.

Plus the Selection Panel want to see:

• Images: show your ideas through sketches, drawings, photographs, computer aided design or a combination; and
• Writing: write about your idea, which SCAPE artwork you chose, and how your design responds to that artwork. We suggest 50-250 words.

Design your sculpture to rest on the floor, go on a plinth, or be suspended in the air inside Tūranga.

How to submit

You will find submission forms at your school or any Christchurch City library. You can also use the entry form at the bottom of this webpage.

Get your completed form to us by 3 July 2026. To submit, you can:

• Upload your entry online using the form at the bottom of this webpage
• Email to sarah@scapepublicart.org.nz.
• Post to Sarah Ackerley, Education Manager, SCAPE Public Art, 301 Montreal St, Christchurch 8013.
• Hand to us at Level 1, 301 Montreal St (up the stairs next to the Locky Dock), Tuesdays to Fridays 10am to 5pm.
• Get your teacher to gather up all the class submissions and contact Sarah to collect them.

Timeframes for 2026

Submit by: 3 July

Winners notified: end of July

Production: August-September

Special celebration & exhibition opening: 24 September

What happens if you win?

2 Winners

• Two winning designs will be produced full-size by SCAPE and our industry partners.
• You will get to meet people who help make art, e.g., curator, engineer, project manager, and fabricators.
• Where possible, we will give you opportunities to help make your sculpture (depending on health and safety, materials, tools, etc.).
• Your sculpture will be exhibited at Tūranga.
• You and your whānau will be invited to the special opening event at Tūranga on 24 September where we will celebrate your success.
• After the exhibition, you will get to choose what happens with your sculpture (e.g., last year’s winners chose to give their sculptures to the Climate Action Campus for other students to enjoy).

18 Finalists

• The top 18 runners-up will be offered a place at special CAD (computer aided design) workshops run by SCAPE and Christchurch City Libraries: Auhuatanga – Creative Spaces. This is a hands-on day for you to make a model of your design, using whatever cool technologies you need.
• Your model will be exhibited at Tūranga.
• You and your whānau will be invited to the special opening event at Tūranga on 24 September where we will celebrate your success.
• After the exhibition, you will get to take your model home with you.

Theme for 2026: Respond, Reimagine

Entries in the Aspiring Artists Competition must respond to the theme for the year. For 2026, theme is Respond, Reimagine.

Instead of starting with a blank page, let’s start with a legacy. We’re inviting you to look back at SCAPE’s legacy artworks (permanent sculptures) and use one as a foundation to create something new.

You challenge begins with observation, not invention. Look at the artwork: What do you see? What story does it tell? What does it make you think or feel?

Rather than simply replicating what has already been made, your challenge is to reinterpret, reimagine, rethink, redefine, or reinvent its possibilities. How can you give the work a fresh perspective, new meaning or purpose through your own creative vision?

Stuck for ideas? Have a look at the prompts in this document.

Resources for Teachers

Entry Form for students to complete in class: Aspiring Artist Submission Form 2026

Competition Details for your own use or to display in classroom, including some ideas for getting started

Presentation for use in class: Aspiring Artist Competition Presentation 2026

Contact us

For more information, contact sarah@scapepublicart.org.nz

When using the online form, please remember to upload your drawing / image file to show what your design looks like!