3

ArtBox is an exciting initiative, a unique project dedicated to establishing new gallery and studio spaces for Christchurch artists. It meets an immediate need to provide exhibition and retail space for approximately 100 Christchurch artists, craft practitioners and design retailers who all lost valuable workspace and outlets in the February 2011 earthquake. The creative industries are vital ingredients in a vibrant, dynamic community. Now with the revitalisation of the central city getting underway, it’s an exciting time to support the return of the arts and art audiences to the city’s heart.

ArtBox has been launched with the first of four pavilions planned for the site at 270 St Asaph St. The remaining pavilions are scheduled for installation throughout 2013. Apart from providing spaces for artists, ArtBox has aspired to draw sympathetic developments into its orbit and the central city. In this respect it has been instrumental in leading a number of other projects onto the site, including Beatbox, which will provide studios for musicians to rehearse, and the Telstraclear commemmorative sculpture by Jason Ware, called Bands 4 Hope.

Why ArtBox?The aim of ArtBox is to help maintain the city’s heart and keep it’s true creative essence alive. Our desire is that ArtBox will address the space needs of the creative community, while also providing interesting areas for the public to congregate and socialise - a hub for creative activity and interaction.

Each module will help to

Provide much-needed venues for artists to present their work

Provide cost effective, alternative professional spaces

Provide important links with events and groups around the city

Provide insulated spaces with varying potential uses, such as artists’ galleries, retail spaces, cafes, or workspaces

Ensure a wide range of groups can use the facilities, igniting our local recovery

The creative community will always be an important part of the heart of Christchurch. So, for this project to become all it can be, we need continued support from the community.

Smart design thinkingEvery component of ArtBox from design to construction methods has been done for a reason. It’s not just about creating spaces for artists, it’s about clever design thinking, attention to detail and an end product that is light, efficient and adaptable. We are proud of the end result and we know the creative community are excited by this new opportunity.

Their alternative and future usesThe immediate goal of ArtBox has always been to meet the creative needs of our city as it rebuilds. However ArtBox has had a wider opportunity to lead a return to the central city. Already ArtBox has been instrumental in supporting a number of developments including Beatbox, designed to provide soundproof rehearsal studios for hire and a fully code-compliant dwelling. These are both designed with the same modular system, which demonstrates its usability for both commercial and residential use. There has been considerable interest from developers in this system.

NZ Made, locally sourcedPart of the beauty of this project is it’s local commitment, so a decision was made early on to use only New Zealand made or manufactured products including:

New Zealand Steel framing

Recycled rimu flooring

New Zealand ply

Woolston manufactured, Butanol roof

Recycled insulation

Local Recycled billboard skins

Local artists and local designers, managed by a local institution

4

5

The boxes/modulesThese unique structures are carefully considered, extremely well thought out, articulately designed, and all materials are NZ made, and sourced locally wherever possible. Every design and construction detail is meticulously planned to ensure long term usabilty, sustainability and flexibility and to ensure minimal product wastage.

Designed as an evolution of the basic shipping container, the ArtBox modules are made from 2.9m cubes. They have been architecturally designed to ensure consideration of the environmental impacts while creating a strong visual appeal through careful thinking and unique construction methods.

The uses of ArtBox in the future are endless, and add weight to the story of sustainability and the project’s long term viability.

Possible future uses include:

Commercial and residential use

Schools

Libraries

Trade Fairs and Expos

Promotional structure

Events

The ArtBox project team are working hard to ensure this innovative product provides inspiring working spaces for the community well into the future.

CPIT and student involvement One of the key goals of CPIT is to ensure that students are provided opportunities to be engaged in a range of business everyday commercial activities and ventures while they study. The objective of integrating students in this way ensures that they leave CPIT and enter the workforce with an appreciation of the requirements and challenges of life in the working world.

The project will provide learning to students in the following areas:

Architecture

Art & Design

Event Management

Project Management

Operations

Marketing

Computer Graphics

Construction Management

Retail and Commercial activity

Many of the potential uses of the architectural system developed for ArtBox will be explored on the sites immediately adjacent to it. The choice to locate at 270 St Asaph St grew from a plan to use ArtBox as a seed project for a master project called Boxed Quarter, which will span three titles. This is a site-wide masterplan that will add design retail, hospitality and office space in a laneways configuration, building on the appeal and drawing power of the creative industries activity. Beatbox became a partner to this plan at an early stage. The intention is to create a critical mass that will become a creative and commercial hub bridging the central city and CPIT.

6

7

s a company that values inspiring, innovative, fun, productive and sophisticated ways of working, F3 Design was the perfect partner to

develop the ArtBox project and take the concept from design through to

construction and completion.

“Creative problem solving is what we do,” F3 Co-Director Pippin Wright-Stow says. “There was a nice purpose in what Martin [Trusttum from CPIT] came to us with. We wouldn’t have developed the ArtBox project without Martin and his passion for helping to regenerate the arts in Christchurch. The point is to try to help artists who have been displaced and provide something for the community too. City life is about events.

“It hasn’t been an easy project, but it has been wonderfully satisfying,” he says. “With ArtBox we have developed a whole construction system. We don’t believe that traditional architectural processes are that relevant now. We have to be more fluid,” F3 Senior Architectural Designer Andrew Just adds.

The ArtBox prototype that now sits on the St Asaph St site has been a labour of love for Pippin, Andrew and the F3 team. The concept of flexible, high quality exhibition and retail spaces, and modules that can be configured for different sites and purposes, required thinking outside of the usual processes as well as harnessing as much local talent as possible – all of which sits well with the F3 ethos.

F3 Design is the creation of Pippin and his sister Ella Fitzgerald, whose creative family background has influenced their business’ blend of architectural, exhibition, graphic, custom furniture design and innovative product manufacture.

Taking “a world of fun, form and function” (hence the name ‘F3’) as their vision, the company sees itself as much as a forum for generating and developing ideas, as a business. “The link with our café fit-outs and exhibition design work, revolving around interactive spaces, flows well into the ArtBox project,” Pippin says.

F3 is also committed to helping revitalise Christchurch through ArtBox and other projects. Members of the team have returned from Cambodia and Mongolia, while Nino Kozlevar from Slovenia has recently joined the company too. “We have all made a conscious choice to make Christchurch a great place to live in over the next 10 years. It is positive opportunism I guess. We want something good to happen, something we can all be proud of,” Andrew says.

F3’s partners have caught the enthusiasm. “Our subcontractors were excited about the project; they said it was so good to have something happening. The engineers were flat out but said the project looked interesting so they took it on. The roofer was the same. It feels like we are getting the best out of everyone,” Andrew says.

Inevitably perhaps, Andrew and Pippin began to question the meaning of ‘temporary’ and to explore how ArtBoxes could be utilised for future purposes.

“If we’re going to do temporary projects then what will happen to all this energy, resource and passion after five years? And how can you design for future applications?” Andrew asks.

One answer has been to reimagine the ArtBox modules, which are strong, well-insulated and weather-tight, as components for residential spaces. In fact Pippin is trying this idea out close to home – building his own home in Lyttelton from ArtBox modules.

“ArtBox is forging a new path,” Andrew says. “It’s a guinea pig in all sorts of ways – for Christchurch City Council consents, the Department of Building and Housing are interested in it. So its research and development and its intellectual property being developed right here and tied into local manufacturers. It’s empowering this city.”

“We have all made a conscious choice to make Christchurch a great place to live in over the next 10 years. It is positive opportunism I guess. We want something good to happen, something we can all be proud of.”

10F3 Design

8

ArtBox is an initiative of the CPIT Faculty of Creative Industries that recognised an inherent need to reinvigorate arts in our community and to support the interaction between the arts and the Christchurch public. The Creative Industries staff have gathered and put together an expert team of businesses and individuals, each giving up their time and resources, and adding a unique skill set to the project.

NZ SteelNew Zealand Steel – the country’s only steel manufacturer – contributes around 1% of New Zealand’s GDP and is the single largest employment site in New Zealand with more than 1,000 employees and around 200 semi-permanent contractors. Using locally-sourced iron sand, lime and coal, they produce around 600,000 tonnes of steel per year, producing a range of flat steel products for the domestic and export markets.

The company has always maintained a close relationship with its customers, their associates and industry organisations throughout New Zealand, so when the Christchurch earthquakes struck they were quick in their offer of assistance. That assistance has been wide ranging and ongoing.

In addition to providing all the steel framing and flashing steel for ArtBox – “an excellent idea to help the creative community” – New Zealand steel has contributed significant quantities of steel building products to its Christchurch customers for emergency repairs. This includes roofing and cladding for a number of key community centres including a Kaiapoi rowing club, gymnasiums, Plunket and daycare centres. They have also offered discounts on steel building products being used in the construction of the DBH temporary housing project.

Over and above the earthquake fund and Red Cross donations matched by the company, they have also donated $100,000 towards the restoration of the Christchurch Arts Centre.

Company president, Simon Linge: “The people of Canterbury have been through a very dark time over the last eighteen months. Being able to contribute to their future through the world of art seemed an ideal way for New Zealand Steel to assist by bringing colour and inspiration to the region”.

He says the company will continue to contribute to the Christchurch rebuild by offering unique, flexible products to its customers, to make Canterbury a safer, stronger built environment for its people.

Placemakers RiccartonCanterbury without creativity would be like Canterbury without the Crusaders and for Grant Close, owner/operator of PlaceMakers Riccarton, that’s just not good enough. He believes creative expression is vital to a community’s well-being and he says art and the interpretation of our environment has always been a part of what has made Canterbury special.

The company’s donation of building materials to ArtBox is the single biggest donation of products the company has made and as such is a reflection of their commitment to art in the rebuild and the revitalisation of our battered city. Grant says ArtBox’s highly practical, moveable working spaces make it a very important project for the province. It is, he says, a practical and realistic response to a crisis of space.

PlaceMakers Riccarton has serviced the Canterbury community for nearly 60 years. Over that time they have implemented ground-breaking strategies that align supply chain capabilities around customer needs. As a result the company has been a supply chain partner for hundreds of projects throughout the South Island, and for projects as far afield as Scott Base Warm Store and the New Zealand Embassy in Dili, East Timor.

In February 2012, Grant Close was proud to receive a Christchurch City Service Award on behalf of his team, in recognition of the comprehensive support the company offered to Urban Search and Rescue and other emergency services following the February 2011 earthquake.

One of the insights gained during that emergency phase was the devastating impact on the local creative community. PlaceMakers Riccarton decided then to help this vital part of the community in as many practical ways as possible. Over the last year they have supported Greening the Rubble, Gap Filler, Court Theatre and have contributed to new artist studios in Moorhouse Avenue. Their support of ArtBox is further evidence of their belief that “all of us have to take some responsibility for ensuring the sum of the rebuild is so much more than the value of its various parts”.

9

Warren Feeney – Arts Writer/Gallery OwnerArts writer and gallery owner, Warren Feeney was quick to back plans for ArtBox. He saw the concept as an immediate opportunity to solve the urgent lack of arts-focussed space within the city – space that was desperately needed by the city’s displaced artists.

“People in Christchurch are crying out for culture and I think ArtBox will provide an exciting new cultural development. A number of artists have already left the city and ArtBox is a timely response that should curtail that exodus,” he says.

As the former director of COCA, Feeney’s experience in the arts came to the fore when he organised a fundraising art auction at Webbs Auctions in Auckland. Both Webbs and Creative New Zealand were keen supporters and his idea was also well received among the artists who donated works.

Feeney sees the ArtBox concept as “an exciting, affordable, versatile, moveable, funky, multi-purpose solution” with a host of possibilities. He says it has the power to shift people’s thinking about what artists are, where they are and how they can work within the community. He sees possibilities for networking in the wider community, with boxes relocating to different sites; he likes the idea of an artist-in-residence; and he believes in the idea of artist-as-facilitator – working with people in earthquake-disrupted communities.

“I was very impressed when I met with the ArtBox designers. Their enthusiasm for the project was contagious – and very welcome in these difficult post-earthquake times. It’s an energetic, uplifting project that definitely has a place in Christchurch’s future.”

Recover CanterburyChristchurch is well known for it’s strong creative community, however following the earthquakes, the businesses and livelihoods of many self-employed artists have been threatened. For Recover Canterbury, ArtBox provided the ideal opportunity to help artists recover and thrive and the organisation is delighted to be part of a unique, forward-thinking initiative.

Established to support Canterbury businesses impacted by the earthquakes by providing a range of tools, resources and, for some businesses, financial support, Recover Canterbury is committed to creating stronger, more confident Canterbury-based small to medium enterprises through targeted input that accelerates their recovery and supports their long term growth and prosperity. Recover Canterbury’s vision is to create strong, independent businesses capable of long-term sustainability and, in the case of ArtBox, to reinvigorate artists and enable them to flourish commercially.

“With more than 100 commercial artists displaced following the earthquakes, we knew there was a real need to get Christchurch’s creative business community back up and running. ArtBox is going to enable that to happen,” Recover Canterbury spokesperson, Therese Banks, says.

ArtBox is one of 325 businesses or projects that have received financial assistance from the Canterbury Business Recovery Trust through Recover Canterbury; and to date the trust has distributed $5,034,078. They continue to work with companies to overcome the challenges of relocation and repair during the rebuild. At the same time, they are working proactively on key areas fundamental to future business success, such as working with CERA in relation to the reduction of the central business cordon.

“By bringing people back into the central city ArtBox will provide a creative hub for our community – a place where locals and visitors can come to enjoy, admire and purchase Canterbury art. A vibrant, interesting city is vital for community well being and economic growth.”

With more than 100 commercial artists displaced following the earthquakes, we knew there was a real need to get Christchurch’s creative business community back up and running.

100

10

Q Brand AgencyQ Brand Agency has operated in Christchurch for eighteen years and despite the earthquakes, they’re here to stay. There’s no better place in New Zealand to be, says managing director Tania Biddles.

“I see a bright future for Christchurch and an innovative, moveable project like ArtBox is an exciting way to help the people of Christchurch feel positive again. We’ve all got to band together and see the bright side. That’s hugely important for the morale of the city, as we head into the rebuild,” she says.

Q Brand is a branding agency focussed on brand design and development and as part of the creative industry, the company has a long-held philosophy of giving back to the community. They support at least two projects a year, including annual support for Cholmondeley Children’s Home, and they have made numerous contributions to fundraising art auctions and local charities.

“ArtBox is a phenomenal way to get artists working again and contributing to the Canterbury economy, at the same time providing a boost to community morale. There hasn’t been a lot happening since the development of the Restart Mall, so this will provide a cultural focus. Artists will get good rental deals on studio space and members of the public will get a visually exciting experience without having to spend any money. It’s a great way to get a positive vibe back into the city,” Tania says.

Ardex NZ LTDBrian Sutton of Ardex NZ Ltd likes the idea of small creative precincts developing within the heart of Christchurch – places for architects, lawyers, artists and other like-minded groups to congregate. He believes ArtBox is an excellent idea with a huge potential to fulfil that vision and to act as a model for a variety of organisations.

“The Christchurch rebuild is going to be a slow progression rather than a sudden explosion and we’re going to need creative ideas like this to carry us through the next few years,” he says.

“A city has got to have a heart and original ideas like ArtBox, located in a high profile area, are going to be of huge benefit to both the arts sector and the wider community.”

Ardex is a family-owned company that was established in Germany in 1949 and now has a presence in 50 countries around the world. Ardex NZ Ltd has been manufacturing in Christchurch since 1968, producing Butynol roofing, tile adhesives and grouts, floor levelling products and crack repair products.

The company has previously given material sponsorship to the Pleasant Point Railway and other steam societies over a number of years and is now excited to be a part of the ArtBox project.

“I liked the look of the prototype. It’s something different – bright and innovative – and when the complex is complete, it will provide a series of very functional spaces for studios and galleries. It has the potential to be a very lively complex,” Brian says.

Post earthquake survey figures show that 90% of Christchurch residents agree that arts and culture have a role to play in the re-building of Christchurch’s future

90%

11

Christchurch Earthquake Appeal (UK)The Christchurch Earthquake Appeal UK (‘the UK Appeal’) was established following 2011’s February 22 earthquake to offer relief to the Christchurch community and wider Canterbury region in the aftermath of the September 2010 and February 2011 earthquakes, aftershocks and subsequent earthquakes.

Based in London, the UK Appeal was aware that more than 100 artists and designers lost studio and retail space as a result of the Christchurch earthquakes. This displacement has affected the artistic community’s ability to operate and share its work with local communities. The Trustees were impressed by the innovative proposal of the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology’s Faculty of Creative Industries to address the shortage of creative space and to promote Christchurch as an active arts centre. The Appeal was particularly attracted to the ArtBox proposal because of the flexibility, ease of construction and cost-effectiveness of the modules that would serve as studios and galleries.

ArtBox will provide a valuable community space for creative activity in Christchurch by encouraging interaction between artists, students and staff at the Faculty of Creative Industries, and the wider community.

The Christchurch Earthquake Appeal (UK) has a variety of charitable purposes including the relief of those in need by reason of financial hardship, ill-health or disability; the advancement of education; the advancement of religion; and the promotion of the provision of facilities for recreation or other leisure time for those in need. It has supported a wide variety of charitable projects in the Canterbury region since it was established in April 2011, including community, sport and educational projects. Recognising the extraordinary need created by the recent earthquakes in the Canterbury region, and the continuing aftershocks suffered, the UK Appeal plans to continue to support Christchurch and the Canterbury region through the advancement of its charitable purposes for as long as possible.

Christchurch Art GalleryIn conversation with Christchurch artists, Christchurch Art Gallery Director and Trust Board member Jenny Harper and her staff have both identified a lack of affordable exhibition and studio space and decreased opportunities to connect with other artists and audiences, as key concerns in post-earthquake Christchurch.

“Many artists had low-cost studios in the central city. These are not likely to be part of the rebuild plan and suitable, affordable spaces in the inner suburbs have quickly been snapped up by businesses,” Jenny says.

It was a logical step then for the gallery to support a project that offered portable, insulated, weather-tight and stackable containers that could be used for a variety of purposes, including exhibition/performance venues, artist studios and retail spaces.

“Christchurch Art Gallery Trust does not normally support projects or events other than those organised by Christchurch Art Gallery, but in this case we took care of a special donation – from UK artist Sarah Lucas – and distributed it in this way to fulfill her wish to help Christchurch following the earthquakes. We felt that directing a portion of the Lucas funds towards the ArtBox project would make an immediate, meaningful difference for Christchurch artists.”

Jenny believes the gallery has a huge role to play in the revitalisation of central Christchurch and as it remains closed, undergoing its own earthquake repairs, it has continued to instigate a lively programme of arts events. This includes showing a series of quick turnover shows by Christchurch artists affected by the earthquakes, in the space above Ng Gallery and the Outer Spaces programme, which has added colourful, thought-provoking works by Wayne Youle in Sydenham and Kay Rosen on the gallery’s own east wall.

Jenny believes the re-opening of the Christchurch Art Gallery will be a firm signal that Christchurch is open for business again – “and we are greatly looking forward to that day.”

12

Creative New ZealandPost-earthquake survey figures show that 90% of Christchurch residents agree that arts and culture have a role to play in the re-building of Christchurch’s future. For Creative New Zealand (CNZ) that signals a need to support organisations keen to re-invigorate the city’s arts and cultural community.

CNZ Chief Executive, Stephen Wainwright, points out that, while people are obviously wise to the issue of rebuilding long-term infrastructure, it is simultaneously important to do practical things that work for the creative sector. He sees ArtBox as one of those initiatives.

“Our earthquake policy basically centres around doing what we can in the city’s transitional period to help artists make and present art, so we’re very pleased to get innovative ideas from the community to respond to. The need is high in Christchurch and we are keen to do something practical to help and keen to support concepts that get things happening again for the city.”

CNZ has been heavily involved in supporting numerous creative ventures within post-earthquake Christchurch, from supporting individual artists to offering earthquake relief subsidies and emergency assistance for many arts-based organisations. In 2010/2011 they added $60,000 to the existing budget of $214,000 for Christchurch City Council; and in 2011/2012 another $40,000 was added to the existing budget.

“We know from our research that the people of Christchurch are hankering after the opportunity to engage with the arts. With both Canterbury Museum and the Christchurch Art Gallery closed, the mobile gallery model (of ArtBox) is a great way for people to engage with the visual arts,” Stephen says.

“ArtBox also offers valuable studio space and the complex will have novelty value. Poeple have changed their expectations of what the arts can be and ArtBox offers something different.”

CNZ will continue to provide practical support to artists and arts organisations throughout the city rebuild, at the same time contributing to the thinking of what Christchurch’s future can be via discussions with Christchurch City Council, CERA and the arts community.

“There is a clear understanding that a strong cultural and artistic landscape is essential if Christchurch is to be a successful city in the future. Exciting projects like ArtBox can play a big part in the revitalisation of the central city, providing for both the wider community and the continued viability of artists’ ability to make a living.”

CCC Mayoral FundKeeping creative people in Christchurch in the aftermath of the earthquakes is important and Christchurch City Council is keen to support ArtBox - via the Mayoral Fund - as an initiative that has the potential to contribute to artists’ recovery and the cultural well-being of the city.

Senior Urban Planner, Mike Fisher says councillors agreed the project is likely to generate foot traffic and activity in a quieter area in the city with artists among the early movers in recovery, it is important to attract them back into central areas, where they can contribute to the social and cultural infrastructure of the regenerating city.

The Christchurch Earthquake Mayoral Relief Fund was established to provide funding to projects contributing to the rebuilding of the social and physical infrastructure of Christchurch following the earthquakes. As of January 2012, $7 million had been donated to the fund. The council has allocated around $3.7 million of that.

“We see it as an exciting, innovative idea,” Mike says, “and with the biggest urban renewal project in the Southern Hemisphere on our hands, we need snaller initiatives like this to keep the mood in the city positive. It could be three years or more before we get the Christchurch Town Hall up and running again, so we need things like ArtBox to keep people connected to the city.”

The Mayoral Fund supports the repair and rebuilding of a wide range of community, sports and arts groups – “projects that benefit the wider community” – and the council is keen to keep all Resource Consent procceses up to speed to allow people with good ideas to get up and running and to keep the city rebuild momentum alive.

13

MELISSA GILMOUR

CPIT Foundation The CPIT Foundation was established in 1984 to support the vocational, educational and research activities of CPIT and develop relationships between CPIT and the community.

The foundation was an early supporter of ArtBox, recognising the value of the project to Christchurch’s arts community. The foundation believed CPIT’s responsibility goes beyond providing an education to contributing to an exciting and active city where the arts and artists are able to thrive.

“The CPIT Foundation decided to provide the initial seed funding for the ArtBox project because the foundation has demonstrated over a long period its support of strategic projects that enhance CPIT’s reputation as not only a leading educational institution but an integral cornerstone contributor to the wellbeing of the Canterbury community,” CPIT Foundation Chair Carl Pascoe said.

“With the impact of the earthquakes on our community, the foundation saw the ArtBox project as a critical component of the psychosocial recovery effort. Approximately 100 artists were displaced by this event. They lost showrooms and work space - two essential components for them to operate and generate

income. These communities have strong and close links with CPIT’s Faculty of Creative Industries.

“ArtBox provided an opportunity for CPIT to demonstrate leadership in the arts sector by providing a viable destination and creating flexible retail exhibition space for these communities,” he said.

Other major projects the foundation has helped to fund are establishing the Media Studies Department at CPIT, the Child Care Centre and a new contemporary arts performance space that will provide a stage for Circus Arts, NASDA and Jazz School students, as well as entertainment for all students.

The Foundations’ grants assist small student projects, provide seed funding and fund major projects that benefit the wider community. This major project scheme is being promoted under the banner of the Big Idea and in its first iteration will back a concept for a robot park. This idea was selected from a range of submissions from Canterbury youth following a campaign that called for ideas designed to revitalise an area in the south-eastern sector of the CBD that would attract and appeal to young people.

PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY THEVODAFONE FOUNDATION CANTERBURY FUND

14

15