In the midst of the Christchurch rebuild the city has become a canvas for some of the country’s best street artists. The trend has now taken off country wide but Christchurch is very much where it started and a walk around the CBD spotting the art work is a great free day out.
The new architecture already blends spectacularly with the old, with the demolished and the yet to be demolished giving the art and city a feel not experienced anywhere else in the world.
Here are some of my favourites but there are many more - with new works of art appearing all the time and others making way for new buildings as the redevelopment of the city continues.
This amazing street art below is beside the YMCA in Worcester Boulevard. Its next to the popular Art Centre and just across from Canterbury Museum and the Christchurch Botanical Gardens - so makes a great visit alongside other free activities in the Garden City.
The street art that really started it all is this stunning painting at the eastern end of the Square. It sits in the shadow of the badly damaged Christchurch Cathedral and flanks a car park where the Christchurch Press stood pre-earthquake.
This colourful work of art sits behind a gym in Litchfield St providing much needed colour to the area.
An icon of the Christchurch art scene is Alice’s Cinema which as formally Alice’s Video Store..until it too was destroyed in the Canterbury Earthquake. This avant garde rendition of Louis Carroll’s famous work in Tuam St really stands out and is often photographed.
A new favourite are the works of art below which feature in a newly built square in the café and tech district off Poplar Street. They add great colour to any walk around the city and as pictured here look spectacular at night.
