SCAPE Public Art has been adorning Christchurch for 22 years, and has been with us through thick and thin. Executive director Deborah McCormick tells Cityscape about the importance of art through adversity.

Public art has the power to inspire and challenge us at a personal, local and national level. It invites us to engage, think, respond, and has the potential to inspire conversation about ourselves and what we value. The planning and placement of public artworks, as part of our urban landscape that reflects diverse cultural origins and events, is important to our sense of belonging. Public artworks have rich and varied stories that flow into our buildings, streets and public spaces. We explore our creativity in the places that define us and these are the golden threads that have the power to draw us together.

In the last ten years, art has played a part in recognising and dealing with three major crises in Christchurch: the Canterbury earthquakes, the March 15 mosque attacks, and Covid-19. It has brought us new intimacies, embraced cultural diversity, responded visually to the events in our city, and connected people in their isolation through art in open spaces and digital exhibitions.

scapepublicart.org.nz