Art Saves Communities: Social Practice as Disaster Relief - Case Study
Christchurch New Zealand suffered a major Earthquake in 2010 that changed the city so drastically that whole neighborhoods are now closed off, and much of the city is now made from shipping containers or has been torn down. After studying resilience management, anarchy in my graduate program and applied cultural sustainability over the years. I became fascinated by how communities rebuild their cultural identity, especially in the years after a major disaster. I went to New Zealand to see what was going on.
In Christchurch the work of Gap Filler and self motivated creative communities, such as street artists, took to the rubble and added artful love to the city's demolished sites. Gap Filler specifically created events and functional art works to create spaces for people to reconnect, process together and reimagine their city. Here is a link to a video about their extraordinary work https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ibO-Xi_HRGQ with the pallet pavilion, a large gather space built from recycled materials.
Christchurch developed shopping centers out of shipping containers that also provide a new "center" of town that continued commerce. Additionally, entrepreneurs such as ReKindle popped up to make art from the rubble to support the local economy.
I felt so happy to be in New Zealand and study how they are getting themselves back on their feet and doing it with a sense of humor, DIY ethic and with a european sense of style. I consider my time there observing social practice art installations, creative reuse, and city revitalization amazing for three reasons. # 1 They have to be resourceful as a island nation, far away from everything. # 2 They have negotiation regulations to create wonderful, albeit temporary, spaces using imagination, what they can find, and dedicated volunteers to make it happen. # 3 There is a wonderful uplifting humor with a smart resourceful design sense, I call it MacGuyver meets european design, function meets chic quirkiness.
Christchurch is like Portland, OR in many ways that checking out the scale of the disaster was eye opening to imagine Portland going through something similar. I share this inspiration and a commitment to helping communities rebuild their spirit is also as important as rebuilding spaces. Fun, humor and keeping a light on in the darkness is critical for rebuilding ourselves and communities - art, gatherings and creativity driven by love is often how I see that show up.
In Christchurch the work of Gap Filler and self motivated creative communities, such as street artists, took to the rubble and added artful love to the city's demolished sites. Gap Filler specifically created events and functional art works to create spaces for people to reconnect, process together and reimagine their city. Here is a link to a video about their extraordinary work https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ibO-Xi_HRGQ with the pallet pavilion, a large gather space built from recycled materials.
Christchurch developed shopping centers out of shipping containers that also provide a new "center" of town that continued commerce. Additionally, entrepreneurs such as ReKindle popped up to make art from the rubble to support the local economy.
I felt so happy to be in New Zealand and study how they are getting themselves back on their feet and doing it with a sense of humor, DIY ethic and with a european sense of style. I consider my time there observing social practice art installations, creative reuse, and city revitalization amazing for three reasons. # 1 They have to be resourceful as a island nation, far away from everything. # 2 They have negotiation regulations to create wonderful, albeit temporary, spaces using imagination, what they can find, and dedicated volunteers to make it happen. # 3 There is a wonderful uplifting humor with a smart resourceful design sense, I call it MacGuyver meets european design, function meets chic quirkiness.
Christchurch is like Portland, OR in many ways that checking out the scale of the disaster was eye opening to imagine Portland going through something similar. I share this inspiration and a commitment to helping communities rebuild their spirit is also as important as rebuilding spaces. Fun, humor and keeping a light on in the darkness is critical for rebuilding ourselves and communities - art, gatherings and creativity driven by love is often how I see that show up.