Ballerinas and Band Aids: The Performances of Urban Art in Post-Earthquake Christchurch

Abstract

While graffiti and street art span generations and all corners of the globe, it was still unexpected when Christchurch,a New Zealand city identified by many as a colonial English transplant with a perceived conservative air, was positionedas an urban art ‘destination’ in the wake of the devastating cluster of earthquakes in 2010 and 2011.1 Historically lacking a strong sense of street culture, such as that in New Orleans (which suffered similar devastation after Hurricane Katrina, 2005), Christchurch's post-quake landscape encouraged public discourses and as such required new approaches to shared space.2 As public expressions with do-it-yourself qualities already predisposed to make use of the post-quake landscape, graffiti and street art proved fitting additions to this terrain. They signified life and rebirth, while also engaging with loss and change, revealing the structures of urban and suburban existence, and creating political discourses.