A photograph of a band playing on stage in the 'Sound Cone' space at LUXCITY.
A photograph of a band playing on stage in the 'Sound Cone' space at LUXCITY.
A photograph of a band playing on stage in the 'Sound Cone' space at LUXCITY.
A photograph of a band playing on stage in the 'Sound Cone' space at LUXCITY.
A photograph of a band playing on stage in the 'Sound Cone' space at LUXCITY.
A photograph of a band playing on stage in the 'Sound Cone' space at LUXCITY.
A photograph of a band playing on stage in the 'Sound Cone' space at LUXCITY.
An artist's impression of the installation 'Etch-a-Sketch', created as part of the LUXCITY event. Tutors: Anna Tong, Chris Holmes
A montage of photographs of the installation 'Tonic', created as part of the LUXCITY event. Tutors: Annabel Pretty, Cesar Wagner, Peter McPherson
A photograph of an installation on the corner of Manchester Street and Worcester Street. The installation is titled "Archrobatics", and is part of the LUXCITY event.
An artist's impression of the installation 'Etch-a-Sketch', created as part of the LUXCITY event. Tutors: Anna Tong, Chris Holmes
In the aftermath of the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, Christchurch, New Zealand is framed as a ‘transi- tional’ city, moving from its demolished past to a speculative future. The ADA Mesh Cities project asks what role media art and networks may play in the transitional city, and the practices of remembering, and reimagining space.
To address the provocation provided by the editors I wish to reflect upon the ongoing civic and artistic responses to the earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, 2010-11, in which 185 people lost their lives (largely due to poor engineering and construction practices). Whilst the example is very different in character from that of efforts to memorialize July 22, 2011, I wish to use the case to briefly respond to the issue of temporality as raised by Jacques Rancière in his critique of the ‘endless work of mourning’ produced by testimonial art. The orientation of this mourning, he argues, is always backward-looking, characterized by, ‘a reversal of the flow of time: the time turned towards an end to be accomplished – progress, emancipation or the Other – is replaced by that turned towards the catastrophe behind us.’ How might memorial practices divide their gaze between remembered pasts and possible futures? AM - Accepted Manuscript
A photograph of a crowd enjoying a live band in the 'Sound Cone' space at LUXCITY.
A montage of photographs of the creation of the installation 'Tonic'. The installation is part of the LUXCITY event. Tutors: Annabel Pretty, Cesar Wagner, Peter McPherson
A photograph of an installation that forms part of the '60 Lights Market' at the LUXCITY event. Coordinators: Jeongbin Ok, Tiago Rorke, Jonathan Coates; student: Tom Hall
A photograph of crowds at the LUXCITY event. The photograph shows an installation on Worcester Street, with the new Press building in the background. The installation is titled "Murmur".
A photograph of an installation on the corner of Gloucester Street and Colombo Street. The installation is titled "Etch-a-Sketch", and is part of the LUXCITY event.
In recent work on commons and commoning, scholars have argued that we might delink the practice of commoning from property ownership, while paying attention to modes of governance that enable long-term commons to emerge and be sustained. Yet commoning can also occur as a temporary practice, in between and around other forms of use. In this article we reflect on the transitional commoning practices and projects enabled by the Christchurch post-earthquake organisation Life in Vacant Spaces, which emerged to connect and mediate between landowners of vacant inner city demolition sites and temporary creative or entrepreneurial users. While these commons are often framed as transitional or temporary, we argue they have ongoing reverberations changing how people and local government in Christchurch approach common use. Using the cases of the physical space of the Victoria Street site “The Commons” and the virtual space of the Life in Vacant Spaces website, we show how temporary commoning projects can create and sustain the conditions of possibility required for nurturing commoner subjectivities. Thus despite their impermanence, temporary commoning projects provide a useful counter to more dominant forms of urban development and planning premised on property ownership and “permanent” timeframes, in that just as the physical space of the city being opened to commoning possibilities, so too are the expectations and dispositions of the city’s inhabitants, planners, and developers.
In recent work on commons and commoning, scholars have argued that we might delink the practice of commoning from property ownership, while paying attention to modes of governance that enable long-term commons to emerge and be sustained. Yet commoning can also occur as a temporary practice, in between and around other forms of use. In this article we reflect on the transitional commoning practices and projects enabled by the Christchurch post-earthquake organisation Life in Vacant Spaces, which emerged to connect and mediate between landowners of vacant inner city demolition sites and temporary creative or entrepreneurial users. While these commons are often framed as transitional or temporary, we argue they have ongoing reverberations changing how people and local government in Christchurch approach common use. Using the cases of the physical space of the Victoria Street site “The Commons” and the virtual space of the Life in Vacant Spaces website, we show how temporary commoning projects can create and sustain the conditions of possibility required for nurturing commoner subjectivities. Thus despite their impermanence, temporary commoning projects provide a useful counter to more dominant forms of urban development and planning premised on property ownership and “permanent” timeframes, in that just as the physical space of the city being opened to commoning possibilities, so too are the expectations and dispositions of the city’s inhabitants, planners, and developers.
A photograph of volunteers at the Info Gap temporary outdoor display space on the corner of Peterborough and Colombo Streets.
A photograph of volunteers constructing the Info Gap temporary outdoor display space on the corner of Peterborough and Colombo Streets.
A photograph of two shipping containers on Colombo Street. One is being used as a temporary dairy, and the other as a display space for a frame and mirror shop.
A photograph of two shipping containers on Colombo Street. One is being used as a temporary dairy, and the other as a display space for a frame and mirror shop.
A photograph of two shipping containers on Colombo Street. One is being used as a temporary dairy, and the other as a display space for a frame and mirror shop.
A photograph of an installation on the corner of Manchester Street and Gloucester Street. The installation is titled "60 Lights Market", and is part of the LUXCITY event.
A photograph of a performer using a large hoola hoop during a performance in the 'Sound Cone' space at LUXCITY.
A photograph of a performer using a large hoola hoop during a performance in the 'Sound Cone' space at LUXCITY.
A photograph of a performer using a large hoola hoop during a performance in the 'Sound Cone' space at LUXCITY.
A photograph of a performer using a large hoola hoop during a performance in the 'Sound Cone' space at LUXCITY.