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An auction of prison art, to be held in Christchurch on Saturday 24 March, was developed in response to a prisoner’s request to be able to give something back to Christchurch and the wider community in the wake of the September 2010 earthquake.

An auction of prison art, to be held in Christchurch on Saturday 24 March, was developed in response to a prisoner’s request to be able to give something back to Christchurch and the wider community in the wake of the September 2010 earthquake.

Entitled Ru Whenua Whakaaro: Thoughts of the Earthquake, the auction includes 100 artworks by 50 prisoners across the three Canterbury prisons: Christchurch Prison, Christchurch Women’s Prison and Rolleston Prison. All of the money raised will be donated to the earthquake appeal.

Following the decision to hold an art auction, a project team was formed to collate the drawings, carvings and creative writing that would then be auctioned in 2012.

The theme of the exhibition is “Ka hanga rua te ao hou: mai i nga pereki tawhito”. Translated, this reads “Recreate the new world: from the bricks of the old”. The theme speaks about both the rebuild of Canterbury and the prisoner’s own emotional journey toward rehabilitation. It emphasises regrowth, rebuilding and new beginnings.

The artworks include acrylic paintings on canvas and larger carved or painted pieces on wood; sculptures in clay and paper; pencil drawings; and traditional and contemporary carvings that have been carved from wood donated from Christchurch’s red zone.

The benefits for many prisoner artists taking part in the auction include:

• enabling prisoners to contribute and give back to the community when their artworks are sold and the money is donated to the earthquake appeal
• providing historical documentation of the impact of the earthquake on the prisoners and Department of Corrections
• supporting and encouraging prisoners committed to their rehabilitative process and to building new lives “from the bricks of the old”.

The auction will be held at the Spreydon Baptist Church, 244 Lyttleton Street, Christchurch from 5.30pm – 8.30 pm on Saturday 24 March. The auction closes at 7.30pm.