Image: Estefania Mondaca, The Sauce Avenue #836, Part I, oil on canvas, 2024. On show at Eastside Gallery.

Toi Ōtautahi Dispatch is a new monthly column and partnership with Toi Ōtautahi, the garden city’s virtual arts office. Each month we will bring you a round up of what’s happening in the arts across Christchurch. Consider it your guide to what’s on and what’s hot, according to Zara Potts.

And just like that, it's December! As we get ready for the Summer and the busy festival season in Ōtautahi, the last month of the year is shaping up to be a busy one.

The sounds of taonga pūoro ring out again 

A series of traditional wānaka toi facilitated by Ngāi Tahu writer and musician Ariana Tikao have been held in Okains Bay on Banks Peninsula over the last few months. At the first wānaka, tohunga kaitā (tā moko expert) and artist Christine Harvey (Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri, Moriori, Te Ātiawa ki te Tau Ihu, Ngāti Toarangatira, Kāti Māmoe) taught the traditional practice of bone-needle making. Ariana has been working to improve the display and cataloguing of the Māori taonga held at the Okains Bay museum and the wānaka toi workshops have been an extension of her museum mahi with the aim of preserving traditional techniques. As she explains: “I wanted to encourage engagement with the collection and the technologies that our tīpuna used, to hopefully be able to revive some of those practices. It’s been great to see the level of interest and excitement. My hope is that the people who came will teach others as well.”

In many pockets of Aotearoa, in rooms such as the Whare Taoka at Okains Bay Museum, and through initiatives like these wānaka toi, life continues to be breathed into the treasured voices from the past so we can carry them forward into the future. Matiu Calman has written a lovely piece about the wānaka for the Toi Ōtautahi site. 

What can you see 15 minutes from home?

That's the premise of Linwood Arts latest exhibition taking place at Eastside Gallery. 15 Minutes From Home is a celebration of the power of local, showcasing work from the community and the creativity that's right on our doorstep. Inspired by the 15-minute city strategy – a concept where daily needs are within walking distance – the exhibition brings together 18 artists from the Central city, Richmond, Phillipstown, and Linwood, all living within a 15-minute walk of Eastside Gallery and Linwood Arts. Featuring life-sized sculptures, paintings, drawings, photography, ceramics, graphic design, digital art and collage, it’s an exciting, wide-ranging showcase that reflects the richness of what’s being made just around the corner.

Sam Mahon on his new satirical novel and changing his mind 

Artist Sam Mahon's new novel, How to Paint a Nude has just been launched and it's a satirical look at the art world, written through the lens of two protagonists who get together every week to discuss topics of importance. We spoke with Sam about the book and discussed a plethora of other topics such as the state of art criticism in Aotearoa, public art, and how the self-confessed contrarian likes nothing better than having his mind changed. Mahon is no stranger to criticism himself having raised eyebrows several years ago with his controversial sculpture of then-minister Nick Smith squatting over a glass of water. “I liked Christopher Hitchens’ take that there should be no censorship,” he says. “And no matter how absurd the other idea appears to us, it then stimulates us to examine why it is that we believe something. I find nothing more refreshing than having my mind changed.” 

The Odyssey gets a new retelling 

Hagley Theatre School has been running now for over 30 years and audiences in Christchurch always look forward to its diverse range of offerings. This month, the school is presenting The Odyssey – a bold, contemporary reimagining of Homer's epic. The performance is directed by Dr. Pedro Ilgenfritz and features graduating students from the one-year acting training course. Every aspect of the production is student led – from the design to the marketing. You can read more about the school here.

Three Wise Men  

Filmmaker Ollie Dawe is presenting a special trilogy screening at the Lumiere Cinema this month titled Three Wise Men. The trilogy is made up of three short documentaries that tell the stories of three very different men. I Know I'm Going to Paint is a profile of artist Phillp Trusttum and it harks back to some of the Kaleidoscope documentaries that screened on New Zealand television during the 1970s and 80s. “The film I’ve done on Phil is the beginning of what I hope will be a string of films I want to do on artists – profiling them and having a visual record of them and their work,” explains Ollie. Ollie, who is the son of artist and sculptor Bing Dawe, has long been interested in profiling artists and his plan is to find funding to complete a series of documentaries that will preserve and archive artists in their studios for generations to come.

New work on the art gallery forecourt

A sculpture project is bringing new life to the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū forecourt. The outside of the “bunker” – which houses the lift and stairs to the gallery’s underground carpark – has been adorned with abstracted metal shapes evoking plants, animals and insects. Acclaimed Kāi Tahu artist Areta Wilkinson is behind the work, titled Te Mauri o te Puna. Wilkinson says the sculpture connects with the nourishing spring referenced in Te Puna o Waiwhetū – the name of the gallery building, which can be translated as ‘spring of star-reflecting waters’.

Calling all poets!

A great opportunity for South Island poets who haven't quite got around to publishing a full collection of poetry, the 2026 John O’Connor First Book Award, is now open for submissions. The award is being offered in collaboration with the Canterbury Poets’ Collective, and will publish a debut manuscript of a South Island poet. The inaugural competition was judged by Elizabeth Smither, who chose My thoughts are all of swimming, by Rose Collins. The 2024 competition was judged by Harry Ricketts, who chose not everything turns away, by Philomena Johnson. The 2026 competition will be judged by Fiona Farrell.

Buskers are back 

The 2026 World Buskers Festival line up has just dropped and there are 10 days of street performances, ticketed shows and pop up surprises planned for Christchurch. It's been a bit of a bumpy road for the festival over the last few years, but it's back to its tried and true formula which has always proved to be a crowd pleaser. Lots of festivals claim to have something for everyone, but the Buskers Festival really does what it says on the box: family fun, breathtaking circus acts, comedy and late night cabaret shows are all on offer. The festival runs from 23 January until 1 February. 

Secrets at Red Rocks Scores Emmy nominations.

Last but not least, kudos to local writer Rachael King whose book was the source material for Libertine Pictures’ family adventure drama Secrets at Red Rocks. The award-winning novel was a perfect fit for television with its blend of Maori and Celtic mythology. The series has just picked up three Children’s & Family Emmy® Award nominations, as the New Zealand-made series prepares to enter production on its second season in early 2026. The first series is available to watch on Neon. 

We will be back in early February next year to keep you updated on the arts in Ōtautahi