METRONEWS
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Art returns to city centre in exhibition of 'ancestral return'

Aaron Dahmen
arts centre exhibition
Artist Katie Russell says Whakahoki is representative of "art moving back towards the city centre."   Aaron Dahmen

The Christchurch Arts Centre has launched a new outdoor exhibition, coordinated by students from the University of Canterbury, to represent hope and renewal in the earthquake-damaged city.

Whakahoki, directly translating as "return to your ancestral mountain", features a variety of different sculptures and multimedia presentations. 

The exhibition also indicates a renewal of the James Logie Memorial Collection and School of Music within Christchurch Central. 

It is the first show to be held in the quadrangles since the Arts Centre’s reopening.

Contributing artist Katie Russell says the show is representative of a "growing shift in moving the arts back towards the city centre". 

Her piece, aptly named Ivy House, translates elements of the Arts Centre into a "decorative object that pays homage to the history of the site, while also questioning the nature of our colonial heritage".

The exhibition is open daily from 10am to 4.30pm until June 11.