Arts and culture

Arts and Culture

Explore our resources on arts and culture.

Arts and Culture

Architecture

Explore Christchurch architects, local architectural landmarks, digitised building plans of historical buildings and more.

Arts and literature reading guide

Find fun reads that shed light on your favourite music, theatre or literature. Reads that inform and entertain just like great works of art.

Crafts and Collecting

Explore resources to improve your craft skills. If you enjoy collecting, we have guidebooks, catalogues and online resources to help.

Games and gaming

Take a leap into a universe of gaming - PlayStation, table football or board games.

Poetry

Explore the world of poetry, including poetry from New Zealand, with lyrical library resources.

Public art in Christchurch

Learn more about public art in Christchurch. SCAPE Public Art Season 2022 is on from 5 November 2022 to 29 January 2023.

Movies and TV

Movies, indie documentaries, or binge-worthy dramas. Stream them for free. Or read about your favourite films, directors, and actors.

Māori arts and music

Explore traditional and contemporary Māori arts and music.

Pūoro - Music

Listen online, research, or make music of your own at the library.

Waka toi – Contemporary Māori art

This page highlights established and up and coming contemporary Māori artists working in different media.

Toi Māori – Traditional Māori art

Resources about traditional Māori arts such as whakairo (carving) and raranga (weaving).

Writing

Resources for people who want to improve their writing and / or get published.

Workshop: Mary Jean Chan: WORD Christchurch Festival 2024

Aug 29th | 5:30pm - 7:00pm
In this generative creative writing workshop involving close readings and writing exercises, we will explore several stricter poetic forms.

Read It Before You See It: Mysteries, NZIFF, and the plague

Hayley breaks down the movies and TV series based on books due to hit screens in the coming months.

Essie Summers 1912 - 1998

Essie Summers was born in Christchurch on 24 July 1912. She wrote 55 romance novels, selling more than 19 million copies in 105 countries.

Gems from the Archives : WORD Christchurch Festival 2024

Aug 31st | 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Librarians and actors bring stories to life and learn more about the experiences of how Ōtautahi’s new settlers met the challenges of life.

Art

Our art resources include pages on local artists and information on how to locate art resources. We have pages on Māori art and public art.

Bill Elderton shares a page with Richard and Justine McKeogh
Bill Elderton shares a page with Richard and Justine McKeogh. Flickr CCL-Star-526

Books and reading

We link you to the best books. Recommended reading, literary prizes, and information on book festivals and events.

Dance

Links and resources for those interested in dance - where to find dance classes, performances and events, and online resources.

Fashion

Resources for the dedicated follower of fashion – books, magazines and web sites on the elements of style. Our New Zealand fashion page has information on Kiwi fashion and designers.

Photography

Find out some famous Christchurch photographers, and explore our resources for photographers and those interested in looking at photos.

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