The Youth Hub Christchurch:
Activities Courtyard

2025

A collaborative mural project bringing colour and life to the Youth Hub Activities Courtyard

At Field Studio, we love when architecture becomes a canvas for further creative expression and community engagement. As part of the Youth Hub Christchurch, we teamed up with SCAPE Public Art to help turn a two-storey, 164-square-metre courtyard wall into something bold, beautiful, and utterly rangatahi-powered.

The activities courtyard is a vibrant, inward-facing space designed to support holistic health and wellbeing through fun, socialising, and recreation. Shielded from residential neighbours, its private, bright, and colourful environment creates a welcoming youth-focused area. The courtyard features space for sports, landscaping, and a painted court by Parklife, blending nature and play to foster active, engaging experiences for young people.

CREATIVE ENGAGEMENT
As a direct result from early engagement with rangatahi youth and youth support organisations, this courtyard was designed from the outset to house murals. Facilitated by SCAPE Public Art, with support from Field Studio, the project involved ten rangatahi from local schools, including one current resident of the Youth Hub Support Housing, mentored by professional mural artists, Richie (Pops) Baker and Lucas Lunn.

“It’s been wonderful to watch the youth-led mural take shape. The very act of creating the mural is upskilling young people, providing real world experience, and enhancing their career-readiness, and I’m sure the finished work will be an ongoing source of inspiration and pride.”
Dame Sue Bagshaw




“The rangatahi deserve respect for working together with people they’ve never met before. They’ve each brought something special to this project.”
SCAPE Public Art Executive Director Richard Aindow.

PROCESS
This wasn’t just about brightening up a wall. It was about process - giving rangatahi a real creative project, real mentorship, and a sense of ownership over their space. The group of 15-18 year olds took part in four day-long workshops that helped them develop the visual concept for the murals, before hands-on experience of painting and installing the full art work. From sketching ideas on paper to rolling paint on the wall, they were in it all the way through. And when it came time to paint, the whole community got involved in a public painting day.

Huge thanks to SCAPE, Youth Hub Christchurch, the Farina Thompson Charitable Trust, Mahi Toi, Resene, and Bunnings Shirley for making it all happen. Most of all, thanks to the young people who showed us what this space could really be.

 
Photography: Sarah Rowlands

Contact Us
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