Image: Toro Atua, by Dr Areta Wilkinson (Ngāi Tahu), in Rolleston Town Centre.

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.

Just when you think the year is quietening down, suddenly it's the middle of November and the Ōtautahi calendar is full up with a bumper crop of exhibitions, performances, openings and events. Here's my top picks for the month.

SCAPE is back

One of the most eagerly anticipated arts events is the enormously popular SCAPE annual festival. SCAPE has been installing public art around the city since 1998, and the 2025 version has some amazing new works. The theme this year is 'Limits of Language' – an idea that will resonate with audiences in these unusual times we are living in. It's fascinating to see how the theme has been interpreted by the artists involved, including Vaimala Urale, George Watson, Gus Dark, Sabin Holloway, Nicola Shanley, and Mollie Shaw. 
 

Established and emerging literary talent in Christchurch celebrated

The limits of language are not something that writer Ross Calman needs to worry about as he has just received the 2025 Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement, following closely on the success of his book The Treaty of Waitangi (Oratia, 2025). In an interview with Matt Calman at Toi Ōtautahi, Ross said of his win, "I was very surprised to get the call from Creative New Zealand and knowing that it comes with the financial [contribution] means I can dedicate a good amount of my time next year to my creative writing. That’s such a gift for a writer. It’s very affirming after so many years writing these books to get this recognition”. 

Ross is just one in a long line of literary talents that have either called or made Christchurch home. The city can lay claim to some of Aotearoa's best known and best loved writers. Both Booker prize winners (Keri Hulme and Eleanor Catton) grew up in Christchurch and the Caxton Press – started by Denis Glover – was the first publishing house to spot Janet Frame’s talent and publish her first book. Ngaio Marsh penned her books from her Cashmere home, while Margaret Mahy drew inspiration from the Lyttelton Harbour where she lived. Rachael King is continuing the tradition of writing fantastic children’s books from the city – her latest instalment of her Violet and the Velvets series was recently released and books three and four are due to hit the shelves next year. 

It's not hard to imagine that somewhere in the suburbs there is another brilliant literary talent just waiting to be discovered and WORD Christchurch recently ran a competition seeking to find them. Blue Sky Dreaming is a short fiction competition that asked local writers to envisage a Christchurch of the future. The winning entry will be featured on posters around the city this summer.
 

Local artist pens playful book

One local artist, Lorelei Jenner, has turned her painting hand to literature and published a beautiful little book called The Colourful & Slightly Exaggerated Life of Edith Merleau-Ponty. It's a playful book that has a bit of everything: The Beat Generation, the Bloomsbury Set, Conceptual Art, and even Existentialism. The book is illustrated by Jenner, in pen and ink drawings. "It is very much an art book – a lot of work has gone into the drawings," Jenner says. "They’re mostly pen and ink drawings, with a splash of colour here and there. It’s minimal and spare in its design, a little bit reminiscent of Edward Gorey. Mostly I did the drawings first and then put the words together afterward." 
 

Jolt heads to South Korea

If you’ve ever been lucky enough to catch a performance from Christchurch’s disability led dance company, Jolt, then you won’t be surprised to learn that the company is travelling this month to Korea after having been invited by Seoul based organisation, Light Sound and Friends, to collaborate on the MADE (Mixed Ability Dance Education) programme to create a new performance with local dancers with disabilities. “When we work with dancers in South Korea, we will be giving them lots of mana and aroha and also getting them to learn the Jolt way of doing things. We empower dancers to embrace their differences and be themselves, to own the space,” says Jolt dancer and tutor Lachlan Oakes. Jolt empowers dancers with intellectual disabilities through programmes that challenge mainstream views of dance, disability, and difference – exploring movements and connections that are artistically unique. We are looking forward to seeing the results of this collaboration when the company returns.
 

The White Room opening a new gallery

Encouraging organisations and spaces that support inclusivity within the arts, is something Christchurch does well and should be proud of. The White Room is opening its own gallery, The Shed Gallery, on Friday 21 November at Richmond Community Garden. It looks like a charming space true to its name, and will be home to an ever-changing programme of exhibitions, community workshops and creative events. Truly a place where art and community meet. The White Room has been running now for over a decade, supporting and empowering traditionally under-served people to make art. The artworks that emerge from the White Room participants are incredible. You can see their work online.
 

Double dose of recognition for Ōtautahi’s heritage and arts hubs

Two of Christchurch illustrious institutions have received good news this month – The Teece Museum of Classical Antiquities has been named a finalist for the UMAC Award 2025 by the ICOM Committee for University Museums and Collections, for their Accessibility Project receiving the nomination. This award recognises excellence and innovation in university museums and celebrates the impact they have on their communities. 

Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga has nominated Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre as a National Historic Landmark – the highest heritage status in the country, currently held by only two sites in Aotearoa, and the nomination is welcome news for the Arts Centre which has had a rough old road following the earthquake series in 2011. It's looking absolutely marvellous and submissions of support for the site to claim the landmark status are open until 19 November. 
 

Landmark exhibition brings together ten Ngāi Tahu land sale purchase deeds

Kā Whakatauraki: The Promises opened last week at the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū. For the first time since their signing in the mid-1800s, this exhibition brings together the ten Ngāi Tahu land sale purchase deeds that were ‘sold’ to the Crown in exchange for what one Ngāi Tahu leader later described as the “crumbs that fell from the white man’s table”. Alongside works by John Millar, Robyn Kahukiwa, Sorawit Songsataya, Shona Rapira-Davies, Bridget Reweti, Jimmy Ma'ia'i, Ranui Ngarimu and more, the deeds illuminate the promises made and the injustices wrought upon Ngāi Tahu during a critical and formative period in New Zealand history.
 

Arts strategy in review

Finally, the city is reviewing its arts strategy this month. The last five years has seen the strategy come to life in a variety of different ways across the city – from public art, to mentoring programmes and developmental workshops, to the acquisition of dedicated artist studios at Toi Auaha in the city. Practitioners and organisations are being invited to give feedback by 14 December on where things are going well and what could be improved. This review will help the Council arts team to get a good idea on what's working for local artists and where the focus needs to be for the next few years. 

Zara Potts is a writer and journalist based in Ōtautahi. At Toi Ōtautahi she is the Arts Implementation Consultant, creating and curating content that showcases the diverse creatives in the city.  Meanwhile, she is also working on a second non-fiction book and a travel guide!  There's no one Christchurch artist who Zara can name as her favourite – but she does have a soft spot for Dennis Glover, because he started the Caxton Press.