Underground art in the light
Christchurch’s mecca of contemporary art is embracing street culture by opening a gallery space dedicated to underground artists.
The Centre of Contemporary Art (CoCA) has partnered with newly established artists’ collective The Corner Store to curate the walls in Lux Espresso, on the centre’s ground floor on Gloucester St.
CoCA executive director Romy Willing said there had been a ‘‘dearth’’ of exhibition space in the city, ‘‘particularly for artists collectives’’ and the gallery saw an opportunity to help.
‘‘As a centre for contemporary art we see ourselves not only as a place to exhibit art but also as a place to help artists with professional development and developing the art sector itself,’’ she said.
The centre had entered into a 12-month partnership with The Corner Store and its 18 artists, who would provide pieces for the space on rotation. CoCA would choose a new collective to work with each year.
The first collaborative exhibition features work from Uncle Harold, the artist name of Christchurch artist Josh Bradshaw, which kicked off on Friday.
‘‘They are a little bit different from what you might normally see at CoCA. The Corner Store represents a lot of illustrators, graphic designers and photographers,’’ Willing said.
‘‘It’s got that street edge, so we’re really looking at providing different levels of access to contemporary art, and working with the collective really gives us that opportunity.’’
The Corner Store studio manager Hannah Watkinson said the partnership was ‘‘awesome’’ news for the artists she represented, who would bring some ‘‘grassroots, local art’’ to the centre, which usually focused on work by established artists.
‘‘[CoCA] is one of the ultimate goal galleries where you’d want to have your work displayed, so it’s a really cool opportunity,’’ she said.
The collective launched its new Cashel St co-working space in April. Many of the artists were originally based at the Welder Collective, a space on Welles St that wrapped up their residence earlier this year.
Watkinson said CoCA approached them to curate regular shows in the new gallery space.
‘‘They were really interested in the kind of shows the Welder had been putting on,’’ she said.
‘‘So the programme we have put together is a combination of works from residents of The Corner Store and group shows from people that were associated with the Welder.’’
Uncle Harold’s exhibition, Supply & Demand, runs until the end of July.