Is Christchurch becoming New Zealand’s new capital of cool?
More than a decade after earthquakes destroyed the Garden City, creatives and community leaders believe Christchurch is enjoying a cultural renaissance.
Musicians, DJs, artists and authors abound, the city’s nightlife has again found its rhythm, and a new $683 million 30,000-seat stadium is reshaping the skyline.
Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger has hailed the city’s potential as a “mini Melbourne”, as big-name bands and DJs give the clubs a spin, and university students flood the Canterbury plains.
‘We just wanted to give a home to cool sh*t’
Space Academy was one of several central city venues that opened after the quakes, offering everything from music and literary events to life-drawing classes.
Despite its size, co-owner Richard Barnacle said Space Academy held a combined 300 gigs alongside the neighbouring darkroom last year alone.
“We just wanted to give a home to cool sh*t,” he said.
Co-owner Meg Barnacle said there was a strong do-it-yourself attitude in the city.
“It feels like there are a lot of people collaborating, there are a lot of people working in these venues that then form bands together, or do projects together. It feels very vibrant,” she said.
As an antidote to post-quake boredom, Ōtautahi labels including The Big Fresh Collective emerged from the city’s northwestern suburbs. Founder Liam Swiggs said the origins of the city’s revival could be found in the three-year period following the 2011 disaster.
“We found partying and playing music in peoples bedrooms, garages and lounges,” he said.
“This quickly evolved into an underground party scene where we’d find ourselves performing in World War Two bunkers or random fields in the middle of Canterbury, just wherever we could be loud really.”
Flux co-owner Zak Cooper recently told Rolling Stone about how time in Berlin helped him imagine what a Christchurch club night could be. Venues around the city are welcoming a wide range of high profile local and international music acts, DJs and comedians.
A 2023 council survey of 3500 people found that more than 85% of respondents wanted the city’s nightlife and night-time economy to thrive, although inner-city residential intensification had resulted in conflict about late-night noise.
Creatives returning, moving, or staying
DJ and promoter Kate.Land has been a torchbearer for the city’s queer community over the past few years, running regular event nights in the CBD.
They returned to Christchurch in 2021 following 10 years in Europe, and will hit the decks at next year’s Electric Avenue festival in Hagley Park.
“I think Christchurch is a really exciting city at the moment. I know a lot of people who are moving here who want creative spaces, studio spaces and shared spaces where they can work together collectively,” they said.
“There’s a lot more opportunity for that here compared to Auckland and Wellington.”
While many independent artists and producers had found success and recognition overseas, RDU student radio station manager Simon Claridge said Christchurch offered convenience.
“They do enjoy living here because they get that creative time,” he said.
“It’s not the hustle and bustle of a big city, they might have children where taking them to school is five minutes down the road.”
Other artists who have moved south to Christchurch include singer-songwriter Amelia Murray aka Fazerdaze, who told RNZ’s Music 101 in 2022 that the city was affordable and the right place for a creative refresh.
According to Trade Me’s August rental price index report, Christchurch renters were paying an average of $530 a week, compared to $600 in Auckland and $580 in Wellington.
Although it remained more affordable than both centres, Christchurch also saw the biggest month-to-month growth.
A humming CBD
Street artist and graphic designer Kophie Su’a-Hulsboch opened her own business six years ago and has painted several murals in the central city.
“It’s more accepted now. It was definitely utilised in abandoned spaces to make the city look alive and colourful again during such a horrible time,” she said.
“It was like a culture shock, it made everything start from scratch again. Like all the colonial buildings and even the colonial mindset a little bit has shifted.”
Su’a-Hulsboch was part of a team that secured $800,000 from the council for a three-year street art initiative. She’s also received funding to deliver a mural as part of a Creative NZ programme for large-scale artistic and historical projects that capture and reflect the Dawn Raids, although she met with resistance in her quest to find wall space because of its controversial place in New Zealand history.
A flourishing hospitality sector has also brought life to the city, with more than 2000 food licences either registered or renewed last year.
The Electric Avenue effect
After its humble two-stage debut in 2015, Electric Avenue has gradually evolved to become a major fixture on the summer festival circuit.
While this year’s festival pumped almost $6.5 million into the local economy, next year’s event is poised to deliver another economic windfall. More than 20,000 people are expected to travel from outside the region to the expanded two-day festival at Hagley Park, which boasts international drawcards and top-drawer local favourites.
Founder and event organiser Callam Mitchell said next year’s event will be the “biggest party in Australasia” amid industry turmoil across the Tasman, with venues closing, major festivals falling over and a Federal parliamentary inquiry into the challenges facing the Australian live music industry.
Hospitality New Zealand Christchurch branch president Jeremy Stevens said the sector was feeling upbeat.
“In February, I think we have an event every weekend which is great,” he said.
“The vibe around Christchurch at the moment is really really good and I think we’re going to have a great summer.”
August’s WORD literary festival also resulted in glowing reviews from Auckland-based writers.
“Gosh it’s good looking,” wrote Newsroom’s Steve Braunias.
“Its downtown looks shinier, smoother, more interesting with every visit – it looks a hell of a lot better than downtown Auckland.”
WORD’s programme director and writer Kiran Dass – another North Islander who had moved south – said the prevailing feelings after the festival were “positivity and buzz”, although organisers were still crunching the post-event numbers.
Is Canterbury the best place to study?
The University of Canterbury (UC) and other education institutions are also benefiting from the city’s resurgence. More than 14% of domestic university students in New Zealand were studying at Canterbury providers last year, up by more than 10% in five years.
UC digital screen student Issy Stewart, 19, relocated to Christchurch to begin her tertiary education earlier this year.
Having lived in both Auckland and Wellington, she said Christchurch stood out for several reasons. The weather is good, it’s cheaper to live there and it offers a lighter alternative to Otago’s “crazy party” scene.
“We’ve got a flat for next year and we’ll be paying around $170. It’s so much better than Auckland and Wellington, which is about $220-230 on average for worse homes,” she said.
“It’s definitely affordable to live here but trying to get a hall is very competitive.”
UC has more than 25,000 students, with enrolments climbing by almost 6% this year compared to 2023. By contrast, Otago University enrolments have dropped for the third consecutive year, with 17,600 full-time equivalent students enrolled in 2024.
According to the latest Census data, population growth for the 15-24-year-old age group was faster in Christchurch than the rate seen nationally, in the five years to 2023.
The age group’s population grew 5.8% in the city, compared to 1.1% in Wellington and a 1.2% decline in Auckland.
Can Christchurch become a ‘mini-Melbourne’?
Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger said the city was on its way to becoming Aotearoa’s sports and arts capital and had the potential to become a “mini Melbourne”.
“We’ve got laneways, we’ve got the trams, we’ve got the Avon River flowing through, albeit not as wide as the [Yarra River] in Melbourne… it’s really starting to take shape,” he said.
“I want it to be, and I’m sure it can be, the sporting and events capital of the country – we’re almost there.”
Halswell ward councillor Andrei Moore established the council’s first arts and creative industries portfolio, and like Mauger, was striving for Christchurch to become the country’s arts, culture and events capital.
Wellington deputy mayor Laurie Foon said the city remained the country’s cultural capital, although it wasn’t a “competition”.
“We should see other centres like Christchurch having a strong cultural rise as a fantastic opportunity. In my view, arts, culture, creativity and diversity needs to rise through the nation,” she said.
According to an Infometrics index, about 7% of Wellington’s workforce was employed in the creative sector a year ago, compared to 4% in Christchurch. About 10% of New Zealand’s creative arts workforce is now based in Canterbury.
Foon conceded the public service cuts had hardened the city’s mood, although population migration to other centres amounted to “swings and roundabouts”.
“After the Christchurch earthquakes, we gained a lot of people from the city. There’s always going to be some migration for different reasons.”
A recent survey by the London-based Institute for Quality of Life named Christchurch the happiest city in New Zealand, giving Cantabrians yet another reason to smile.
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