A R E
“Artbeat May/June 2022”
by Rueben Woods
ARTBEAT by Warren Feeney, 28/04/2022
The Seven Murals formed the heart of the festival, their impact stretching beyond the schedule as new city landmarks. The range was a diverse mixture of styles and themes…
“And That Was… March 2022 With Selina Faimalo and Kophie”
by Reuben Woods
Watch This Space, 20/04/2022
This month’s And That Was… is a special edition – dedicated to the impact of the Flare Street Art Festival across March (the festival opened on the 2nd and eventually came to a close on the 20th, an extended run). Who better to break down the highlights than Flare project manager Selina Faimalo, who gamely took on the challenges of such a multi-faceted event…
“Burn So Bright – FLARE Street Art Festival Recap”
by Reuben Woods
Watch This Space, 12/04/2022
Almost five years since Street Prints Ōtautahi, Christchurch’s last significant street art mural festival, Flare Street Art Festival provided a welcome shot in the arm for a city with an established reputation as an urban art destination. The brainchild of ARCC, a urban activation collective of local business people and place makers, Flare burst into life with a roster of seven headline artists painting huge murals…
“FLARE Festival – A Photo Essay by Centuri Chan”
by Reuben Woods
Watch This Space, 31/03/2022
Flare Festival may have come and gone, but it’s legacy lives on – an array of amazing new murals and a bolt of energy in the local urban art scene putting graffiti and street art back in the limelight. The flurry of activity that saw a pop-up gallery, guided tours, panel talks, mural painting, graffiti jams and live painting sessions was a lot to take in – luckily we had our man, Centuri Chan, on hand to capture some of the magic…
“Flare street art festival brings gods, flowers and giant cats to Christchurch”
by Charlie Gates
Stuff, 19/03/2022
Guardians of the gods, psychedelic flowers and a giant rescue cat have invaded central Christchurch.
Eight new street art murals have popped up in the city centre as part of the Flare street art festival, with artists from across New Zealand bringing their colourful and eye-catching work to giant walls in Christchurch.
“Turning Christchurch back into a street art capital of the world”
by Geoff Sloan
Star News, 18/03/2022
Christchurch street artist Nick ‘Ikarus’ Tam has completed his masterpiece outside a central city hair salon.
As the inaugural FLARE Street Art Festival was finishing up over the weekend, Ikarus was putting the final touches on his latest mural outside True Grit Hair on Manchester St.
“FLARE festival brings street art back to Central Christchurch”
by Geoff Sloan
Star News, 11/03/2022
Seven large murals are taking shape on buildings across the central city as part of a new 10-day festival under way in Christchurch this week.
The inaugural FLARE Street Art Festival aims to enhance the city’s reputation as a global street art capital. Seven Kiwi artists are creating the giant artworks.
The Project
“FLARE sees muralists taking it to the streets”
by Standing room only
RNZ, 06/03/2022
“One of the few public artforms that can happen at the moment is street art.
Christchurch in particular is making the most of it, launching an entire festival devoted to it.
FLARE, the organisers tell us, has a vision to reclaim Christchurch’s global status as a street art capital, with artists from across Aotearoa creating seven large scale murals in Ōtautahi…”
“Showtime!”
by Reuben Woods
Watch This Space, 06/03/2022
Friday the 4th of March was a busy night, with two events marking the opening of significant urban art events in Ōtautahi, signalling an exploding energy in the local scene. First up was the opening event for the Flare Street Art Festival, held at the pop-up exhibition space on High Street, which is host for all the information you will need about the festival and a collection of work by Flare artists and a number of local stars.
“10 exhibitions to look out for in Canterbury”
by Warren Feeney
Stuff, 05/03/2022
Flare is a new street art mural festival for the city developed by ARCC (business leaders collectively identified as: Action Reaction Central Christchurch). Flare features local street artists, comprising DTR crew Ikarus and Wongi ‘Freak’ Wilson and visiting artists who include Elliot Francis Stewart, Kell Sunshine and Koryu…
“What’s on: Event highlights in Ōtautahi”
by Vicki Anderson
Stuff, 04/03/2022
Otautahi Street Art Festival, FLARE, aims to revitalise the city centre through art.
It is on daily until March 12 and programme highlights include:
Artist mural by seven headlining artists daily to March 12…
“Wave of new street art coming to Christchurch”
by Charlie Gates
Stuff, 02/03/2022
A new wave of street art is coming to central Christchurch, with artists creating seven major murals on walls across the city over the next ten days.
The Flare street art festival begins on Wednesday (March 2) and will feature work from Christchurch artists Kophie, Wongi Wilson and Ikarus, along with Auckland artist Elliot Francis Stewart, Kell Sunshine from Gisborne, Swiftmantis from Palmerston North and Koryu from Japan…
“Make Art Not War – New Mural at Little High”
by Toi Ōtautahi
As part of the upcoming Flare Street Art Festival, a new mural has risen at Little High – reflecting the turbulent times the world finds itself in.
The mural ‘Make Art Not War’ is a collaboration between Ghostcat (Mike Beer), Dcypher and Dr Suits.
Expect to see more of these amazing works around the city when Flare kicks off this week (2 – 12 March).
“Watch this space”
by Twenty Seven Publishers
Avenues, 03/2022
Jacob Yikes designed this mural as a tribute to Ernest Rutherford, the famous face of our NZ$100 note. Known as the father of nuclear physics, Ernest was born in the South Island, winning a scholarship in 1889 to study at Canterbury College…
“FLARE Ōtautahi Street Art Festival”
by Breakfast
RDU, 01/03/2022
Announcing the premiere of FLARE – our Annual Street Art Festival in Ōtautahi. Street Artists from across NZ converge on our inner city to unleash their creativity on our major walls & spaces.
“Artbeat March 2022”
by Reuben Woods
ARTBEAT by Warren Feeney, 28/02/2022
“FLARE has been developed by ARCC, a collection of prominent business leaders and placemakers looking to reinvigorate the central city. Conscious Club co-founder Selina Faimalo serves as FLARE’s project manager, and she has had to navigate the unpredictable landscape of the pandemic…”
“And That Was… February 2022”
by Reuben Woods
Watch This Space, 28/02/202
A precursor to the Flare Festival, this impressive mural along the west-facing wall of the Team Hutchinson Ford building on St Asaph Street, was designed by Jacob Yikes and produced alongside crew-mates Dcypher and Ikarus.
“The FLARE Street Art Festival March 2-12, 2022”
by Reuben Woods
Watch This Space, 25/02/2022
Christchurch’s street art reputation is, in many ways, built on the legacy of festival events. The likes of From the Ground Up, Rise, Spectrum and Street Prints Ōtautahi established the city as a destination for artists to find opportunities and for a new audience to experience amazing examples of urban art in a setting that was forced to re-imagine it’s creative profile and identity.
“FLARE Artist Profiles”
by ChristchurchNZ
FLARE Street Art Festival is an exciting collection of live painting events and street activation across central Christchurch.
Expect the country’s best street artists and muralists to descend on our city from 2 – 12 March, making a lasting impact on our visual culture.
“FLARE street art festival – Koryu”
by toi Ōtautahi
The Flare Street Art Festival is underway in Christchurch and the walls of the city are being transformed into works of art.
For street artist, Koryu, it’s an opportunity to work on a wall that’s a larger canvas than he’s used to.
“It’s 8 metres, and it’s really going to be challenging to me because it’s so big, even the scaffolding frame is massive.”
Originally a graphic designer in Japan, Koryu studied street art in Melbourne, and moved to Aotearoa in 2020…
“FLARE murals and nearby foodie hot spots”
by ChristchurchNZ
FLARE murals and nearby foodie hot spots FLARE Street Art Festival kicked off 2 March, running until 12 March and bringing a bunch of new murals to town. Head into town to watch the artists at work, and check out our recommendations for where to fuel up…
“South Frame – FLARE – March 2022”
by Ōtākaro Ltd