Remember RISE, the epic 2013 street art exhibition at Canterbury Museum that heralded the beginning of Christchurch’s reputation as an urban art capital?

If you never got a chance to see it, hold onto your hats, because an even bigger, more epic collaborative exhibition is coming to Canterbury Museum in 2023.

SHIFT: Urban Art Takeover will feature art from some of the most prolific street artists in Ōtautahi, New Zealand and around the world, painted directly on the internal walls, floors and ceiling of the almost-empty museum ahead of its closure for redevelopment. It will be staged across five floors and over 35 spaces inside the museum – including storerooms, corridors, offices, even the basement – that aren’t normally accessible to the public.

Visitors will take a winding, two-hour journey through the museum, surrounded by urban art on all sides. All proceeds from the exhibition will go towards the museum’s $205 million redevelopment project. It will run from 28 January to 11 April, after which the museum will close. The redevelopment is estimated to take five years.

SHIFT is curated by Ōtautahi-based writer and urban art expert Dr Reuben Woods.

“Similar takeovers have been held in buildings overseas, but this is definitely a first for Aotearoa New Zealand and a first for a cultural attraction. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The artists I’ve spoken with about it have all been really excited to be part of it, and I know that excitement will be carried through to our visitors,” he says.

Following in the footsteps of RISE, which is the most successful exhibition the museum has held, SHIFT is an opportunity to show how far urban art practices have come over the last decade.

Participating artists are still being confirmed but the museum plans to have around 50 involved, including Ōtautahi Christchurch locals, artists from around Aotearoa New Zealand, and high-profile international urban artists.

Museum Director Anthony Wright says, “SHIFT is a never-to-be-repeated urban art experience which will give Cantabrians and their visitors a chance to farewell the museum buildings as we know them and contribute to this much-loved attraction’s future.”

canterburymuseum.com