Has Christchurch street art come to an end?

The rebuild in Christchurch’s city centre has been well underway, buildings have fast taken over empty lots and left some iconic street art hidden.

The view of the Ballerina artwork from 300m away now that construction is underway.

The favoured Ballerina mural on Gloucester street was the most recent wall of art that has been hidden from view, however, Spectrum’s Art Director George Shaw remains adamant this is not the end of street art.

He said they know some of the buildings they have painted will disappear but as time goes by “Christchurch will be full of  lovely street art murals” because artists will keep painting them.

Shaw said it’s becoming easier to tell what buildings will stay exposed to the street as the city starts to develop. He said there are many options available for recovering street art because flying artists back in to the city is always an option.

The remaining view of the Ballerina to the street.

Christchurch has become known as a centre of street art with international artists flocking to the city, eager to be a part of projects such as the show, Spectrum – a festival of street art.

Oi You, The Christchurch City Council, CERA and Canterbury Tourism have also teamed up on a project that aims to engage the Christchurch community and keep street art alive in the city.

Their project ‘Word Up’ encourages keen Cantabrians to send in a few words about what Christchurch means to them. The winner will have their words displayed in different street art fonts on the side of a public building.

The project will fly Numskull, a world-renowned Sydney artist, to Christchurch to paint the winner’s entry.