{"id":536030,"date":"2026-07-21T01:05:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T01:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/536030\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T01:05:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T01:05:12","slug":"christchurchs-thriving-urban-art-scene-painting-the-city-to-life-one-wall-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/536030\/","title":{"rendered":"Christchurch\u2019s thriving urban art scene: Painting the city to life, one wall at a time"},"content":{"rendered":"

In describing her style, Compton says she likes \u201cto do section cuts so that [viewers] kind of get a glimpse into these mysterious worlds that [viewers] otherwise might not see into\u201d.<\/p>\n

She hopes this particular piece \u201cpays homage to the architectural history of the space but also all of the performance precinct area.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all […] little pockets of joy and moments. The intention is that people stop and take it in and find new things each time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"WorkWork underway to fill Compton’s mural with bright colours on Press Lane. Photo \/ Anna Heath<\/p>\n

Behind the hundreds of pieces of urban art across Christchurch city is a vast spiderweb of artists, the council, event organisers, project managers and facilitators.<\/p>\n

Dr Reuben Woods has observed this network closely. From attaining a PhD in Art History exploring local urban art in 2016, to being creative director of Watch this Space, a comprehensive street art resource, he has insight into the city\u2019s evolution, particularly post-earthquakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had this authentic art that responded to a real lived experience which is probably the most impactful event that the city has had since its formation,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat has embedded in a way that\u2019s different to other cities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DrDr Reuben Woods of Watch This Space in front of an artwork by Monti. Photo \/ Anna Heath<\/p>\n

While Woods labels the earthquakes as a rebirth of urban art due to newfound blank spaces, he also notes that it is an evolving reflection of the city as it grows and changes. Murals and installations don\u2019t last forever, and new ones pop up all the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI often say that it feels like I\u2019ve lived in five different cities over the last 20 years because of, you know, the change, particularly post-quake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"WallsWalls full of urban art line Cathedral Square. Photo \/ Anna Heath<\/p>\n

Artist Jacob Yikes has seen first-hand how urban art has played a significant role in revitalising Christchurch city, having contributed to the first shoots of colour post-earthquake himself. <\/p>\n

Many works were unpaid. \u201cI was doing it because, essentially, I could,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere were a lot of areas that were very derelict in a sense, and kind of, you know, broken down.<\/p>\n

\u201cBringing colour into a broken city seemed to help bring people back, who didn\u2019t necessarily have any reason to go in there because it was not much of a city at that point.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA mural recognising Christchurch as a gateway to Antarctica by Dcypher and Jacob Yikes at Cathedral Square. Photo \/ Anna Heath<\/p>\n

Like Compton, he says he gets a lot of positive engagement and curiosity while he\u2019s out on the job. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou do have to have a fairly tough skin to paint in public, but to be honest, I\u2019ve never had any full-on negative experiences. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf somebody\u2019s chatting to you while you\u2019re painting, they seem pretty hyped about it because they often don\u2019t get to see it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not like most art practices that are behind closed doors and you only see the finished product.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA mural remembering the 1970s dawn raids by artist Kophie Su\u2019a-Hulsbosch on Armagh St. Photo \/ Anna Heath<\/p>\n

Woods echoes the importance of art in public engagement, saying he likes to see art as a way to pull people intuitively across the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to say to people, if you see a flash of colour, go and see what it is. If you smell something amazing, go and hunt out where it\u2019s being cooked. If you hear music, go and see who\u2019s playing it. <\/p>\n

\u201cLet those sensory things drag you, because you\u2019ll often open up these doors to really cool things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Gazer,Gazer, by Jessie Rawcliffe, peeks out of a doorway at Cathedral Square. Photo \/ Anna Heath<\/p>\n

He hopes this liveliness will encourage those who visit Christchurch to return.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to think that someone could come and visit the city, and every year there\u2019s new things to see and experience,\u201d Woods said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s one of the qualities I think of murals and street art, that it\u2019s living and breathing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA mural of rugby coach David Kidwell by Mr. G on Lichfield St. Photo \/ Anna Heath<\/p>\n

Navigating Christchurch\u2019s CBD, it doesn\u2019t take long to find someone staring up in awe, or traipsing around with camera in hand. It\u2019s clear the storytelling woven into the city\u2019s urban artworks resonates widely.<\/p>\n

Compton says this is her incentive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith big murals, it\u2019s not often you get to kind of take in a whole world or connect with a particular idea all at once.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my motivation to tell stories through art so that people can connect with it and find joy and fun.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In describing her style, Compton says she likes \u201cto do section cuts so that [viewers] kind of get…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":536031,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[5845,1228,4914,38645,1975,114034,103977,264191,1853,4487,50545,2199,8615,23778,156,8589,52088,61493,30538,424,440,91124,111,139,69,5270,3074,30205,1562,122283,17152,766,1439,223,2846,67015,2044,61,9182,8733,82104,13558,24034,102,6730],"class_list":["post-536030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-anna","tag-art","tag-artists","tag-artwork","tag-at","tag-blank","tag-brighten","tag-canvases","tag-central","tag-christchurch","tag-christchurchs","tag-city","tag-come","tag-empty","tag-entertainment","tag-garden","tag-grey","tag-heath","tag-helping","tag-life","tag-local","tag-lots","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-one","tag-painting","tag-parking","tag-plenty","tag-proving","tag-rebuild","tag-reports","tag-scene","tag-the","tag-them","tag-thriving","tag-time","tag-to","tag-tourists","tag-urban","tag-vibrant","tag-wall","tag-walls","tag-with","tag-would"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=536030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/536031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=536030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=536030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=536030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}