Tenant Art Show 2025: Exhibition now open

Anime artist Matthew Fell stood by his drawing, fielding more questions than he could count.

The crowd was looping around the display panels and Matthew's anime-inspired fairy work was at the very corner.

“It is a good spot, everyone's stopping to have a look,” Matthew said through a wide smile.

“I didn't expect to see so many people.”

Matthew was among the artists featured in hArt and Home The ŌCHT Tenant Art Show at Tūranga on Tuesday night.

Dozens of people attended the opening event ahead of a month-long exhibition at the city's central library.

Matthew, who is blind in one eye, was also surprised so many people were interested in his work.

“I love anime and it is so different to the other art here. It is nice people like it.”

Beside his work was another by Matenga Karauria.

Matenga said his triptych of three postcard-sized paintings was actually three photographs of work produced in 1976.

The pictures were taken from slides, in turn produced from paintings he's long since lost.

“Art and music were my things at school, not rugby or sport,” he said.

"These paintings, they were much bigger than what's in the frame now, and I made them by painting with cut card.

“I just sort of sloshed and slashed it about. It's nice they can be seen by other people.”

Matenga was impressed by the variety on show in the striking, pocketbook exhibition.

Abstract, still life and scenic paintings, collage, fantasy, mixed-media and sculpture were testament to much creative talent.

Opening the exhibition, ŌCHT chairman Darren Evans acknowledged the talent that brought the assembled artwork to life.

He thanked the artists for sharing it. exhibition visitors will be rewarded and enriched by their art, and the passion from which it grew.

White Room Creative Space co-coordinator Simon Gray remembered back to when the space began working with the Trust.

He and co-coordinator Blaire Rosie-Forrester expected most tenant artists would need to use their new facility to prepare their work.

As it turned out, most already had their own creative spaces at home.

"And we found that there was so much work going on, and we heard so many amazing stories about why people were doing their work.

"We learned about why it was so important, and it wasn't necessarily about it being exhibited.

“So to the artists, it is a privilege that we get to see it. We hope this will be the start of many exhibitions to come.”

The hArt and Home exhibition runs until March 2. It’s on the ground floor of Tūranga, the city library in Cathedral Square.

ŌCHT thanks all the artists, and the White Room Creative Space and Christchurch Libraries teams for their amazing support