About us

We are a creative placemaking agency operating at the crossroads of community development, urban design, art and public intervention. Creating the conditions for engaging, experimental and playful encounters to connect people to place.

Globally-acclaimed

Gap Filler is a creative placemaking agency operating at the crossroads of community development, urban design, art and public intervention. We use all these means to explore how to involve and engage people in creative ways to shape and reimagine the places where they live.

We make unique and place-specific creative events, interactive installations and other sorts of interventions to grow a sense of identity and make places more exciting, sociable and diverse. We use these experiences to inform an urban strategy and placemaking consultancy.

Gap Filler is a leading placemaking organisation in Aotearoa New Zealand, with more than a decade of worldwide experience in activating the public realm with innovative and fun installations and events – and developing the strategies that underpin these outcomes. We strive to make the act of reimagining the world joyful, tangible and infectious.

Gap Filler is an Ākina-certified social enterprise and registered charity.

New Zealand-based

Our testing ground is Ōtautahi Christchurch, where since 2010 our prolific and diverse output has invited people to experiment, engage in and reshape a place undergoing vast and rapid change. Our work has helped shift the identity of our conservative Garden City to “a city where anything is possible” (Christchurch City Council Strategic Framework, 2018). Drawing on this evolutionary experience, we deliver strategies, installations and support services all around Aotearoa New Zealand and the world.

Check out our Portfolio to see some of our work and click on Products & Services to see what we can do for you.

Our Way

We typically involve significant others in the development and creation of placemaking projects, from inception to delivery. Occasionally, Gap Filler creates ‘propositional’ projects that grow from within our team and the reach of the project expands as it unfolds – bringing in designers, fabricators, industry experts and professionals as required. The public are the final benefactors, through taking part in an event or experience that has developed from an identified need.

Our Vision

Healthy and thriving communities of active and proactive citizens working together to shape their places.

Our Mission

To design and create the conditions for engaging, experimental and playful encounters to connect people to place.

Vision into Being

We implicitly (and sometimes explicitly) remind people of their rights and responsibilities as citizens charged with keeping communities, towns and cities alive and thriving – and we provide more accessible opportunities for people to participate. Interventions are developed and realised by engaging with the people who care about the place.

Gap Filler identifies a social need, a desire that requires a different ‘take’, a new perspective, a twist on the familiar that attracts people to participate. Through participation, needs are met, citizens are seen and heard, and the status quo is challenged in such a way that people come back for more, expect similar experiences, or are motivated to participate in future projects. Gap Filler wants people to be vocal and visible with respect to how they are represented in the places they live and work.

We want to independently or collaboratively engage citizens in experiences of/in/with their places that has them say: “This is us – this is who we are; we are active decision-makers in our communities; we play in the streets; we are willing to try something new, in public, and we do that because we see others doing it as well. We seek the communal experience because it makes us feel good; we are alive to ourselves and where we live. These experiences encourage us to seek out more of them; they encourage us to ask for more, to ask ‘Why not?’, to expect that our cities, our streets and our public realm represent and reflect us, in all our beliefs and cultures.”

Awards

Ryan Reynolds, New Zealander of the Year nominee, Sanitarium New Zealand Innovator of the Year, 2019
Best Soft Power Activation, nominee, 2016, by Lord Culture (London)
City to City Barcelona FAD Award, 2016, for Eyes on the City as one of the top three global Learning Initiatives in the City
International Award for Public Art, finalist, for the Pallet Pavilion, 2015 (China/US)
New Zealand Innovator’s Awards, finalist, for Innovation in Media, Music and Entertainment, 2015
Coralie Winn, New Year’s Honour list, Queen’s Service Medal for Service to the Arts, 2015
Coralie Winn (Gap Filler Director and Co-Founder), Finalist for NEXT Woman of the Year (Arts) 2015
BEST Design Awards, Silver (Exhibitions and Temporary Installations category) for the Pallet Pavilion, 2013
Australasian Dulux Colour Award, for Manchester St Monopoloy, 2013
Tertiary Education Union Award of Excellence to co-founder Ryan Reynolds, 2012
SHAC (Sustainable Habitat Challenge) Award, 2012
Sustainable Business Network Social Innovation Awards, 2012
Resene Architectural Design Awards, Finalist for Dance-O-Mat, 2012
Civic Trust Award 2011
Mayor’s Earthquake Service Award, 2011

Gap Filler People

Gap Filler staff, Board members and the People behind the projects

Gap People

In the Media

In the Media 2021

In the Media 2015

Add colour, life and fun, mix well – The Christchurch Mail – 24 December 2015
It’s time to re-engage, listen to the people – The Press – 25 November 2015
Funding cut puts end to Body Festival – The Press – 19 November 2015
Colourful do to celebrate Gap Filler turning Five – The Press – 15 November 2015
Gap Filler team celebrates making things happen – The Star – 15 November 2015
A spiritual restoration – Star Times – 15 November 2015
New cafe fits with creative arts theme – Christchurch Mail – 22 October 2015
Christchurch’s friendly Dragon’s Den – Christchurch Mail – 16 October 2015
Nourishing body and soul in rebuild – The Press – 16 October 2015
Vacant Spaces – Design Blog – 19 October 2015
People and places brought together – The Press – 13 October 2015
City-making project grows people and places together – The Press – 9 October 2015
The “Good Death” of Buildings: Filling Gaps in Post-Earthquake Christchurch – P[art]icipatory Urbanisms – October 2015
On the rise – AA Directions – Summer 2015
Five things the San Francisco bay area can learn from the Christchurch, NZ earthquakes – Medium (U.S.) – 28 September 2015
Off to town for arts sake – Christchurch Mail – 24 September 2015
Christchurch’s “Transitional” phase is over, where to for transitional 2.0? – The Press – 20 September 2015
Canterbury quake 5 questions: Life in a post-apocalyptic wasteland – The Press – 1 September 2015
Garden city goodies – Taste magazine – September 2015
Community input could go further – The Press – 24 August 2015
Christchurch recovery documentary debuts tonight – The Press – 15 August 2015
Street eats – Avenues – August 2015
Popular Christchurch Dance-O-Mat could travel the world – The Press – 25 July 2015
Central city holiday fun – Christchurch Mail – 2 July 2015
Dancer takes it to the streets – The Press – 6 June 2015
Heading to New Zealand? Here’s the Lost at E Minor Guide to Christchurch – Lost at E Minor (USA/Australian global culture site) – 3 June 2015
Christchurch now – Jetstar magazine – June 2015
Saving Christchurch Cathedral Square – The Press – 9 May 2015
A tale of two recovering cities – Japan’s recovery and Christchurch’s rebuild – Newstalk ZB – 5 May 2015
After disaster, tactical urbanism builds resilience – Resilience (Resilience.org is a program of the Post Carbon Institute (PCI) – 1 May 2015
After disaster, tactical urbanism builds resilience – The Press – May 2015
Taking it to the streets – Qantas magazine (Australia) – May 2015
Shiny new city – The Planner (U.K.) – April 2015
Desire for the gap, building community after disaster in Christchurch – Issue 8, Axon Journal (Australia) – March 2015
The Ealing Challenge – Ealing in London (UK) – March 2015
Putting colour in their lives – The Press – 21 March 2015
Is interactive art our future? – The Southland Times – 5 March 2015
Creating our future – The Press – 2 March 2015
Creative ways artists improve communities – The Guardian – 12 February 2015
Stand tall giraffes auctioned for charity – TV3 – 11 February 2015
Quake experiences told through tweets – The Press – 4 February 2015
Get a grand view of city’s rebuild – The Press – 2 February 2015
Lack of theatres prompts new collective – The Press – 27 January 2015
Photographic reminder of quake-hit buildings – The Press – 3 January 2015
Quake zone in transition – The Press – 3 January 2015

In the Media 2014

To be made Officers of the NZ Order of Merit – The Star – 31 December 2014
Honours for Gap Filler, SPCA, Food-bank volunteers – The Press – 31 December 2014
A powerful force for arts by any name – The Press – 31 December 2014
Red tape stymies projects – The Press – 27-28 December 2014
Albion square tribute to community spirit – The Press – 10 November 2014
The final chapter – The Press – 3 November 2014
Design a city – Avenues – 1 November 2014
Gap filling projects reach crucial juncture – Scoop (Press Release – Lincoln University) – 30 October 2014
The people’s Christchurch – One Quarter Journal (Australia) – 28 October 2014
City of lights – The Press – 27 October 2014
Spectators drawn to the light – The Press – 27 October 2014
Spectacular and fun, by design – The Press – 25 October 2014
Watch a demolition from the grandstand – The Press – 23 October 2014
Congress focuses on adaptive urbanism – The Press – 22 October 2014
Plenty for kids to get stuck into at Festa – The Press – 22 October 2014
Christchurch a model of adaptive urbanism – The Press – 22 October 2014
Carnival of shape and light – The Press – 18 October 2014
Some cities are just far too tempting – The Press – 17 October 2014
Focus on cycling, not stadium – expert says – The Press – 16 October 2014
Neighbourhood association was not consulted – The Press – October 2014
Gap Filler teaches the world – The Press – 29 September 2014
Festa plans outrageous spectacle in central city – The Press – 15 September 2014
Kamua Kamuri – Te Karaka – 1 September 2014
Transitional artworks helping to heal city – The Press – 30 August 2014
Views of a city – The Press – 30 August 2014
Engineering solutions for Christchurch – The Press – 30 August 2014
Transitional projects colour vacant spaces – The Press – 25 August 2014
Christchurch Gap Filler sees scope for Hamilton empty spaces – Waikato Times – 25 August 2014
Beautifying Christchurch’s empty gaps – The Waikato Independent – 17 August 2014
State of art – The Press – 23 August 2014
A trap for art lovers – The Press – 29 July 2014
Some impressions on coming home – The Press – 28 July 2014
Making a spectacle of Christchurch demos – The Press – 15 July 2014
Letters to the Editor – re D. Lynch and Gap Filler – Christchurch Mail – 3 July 2014
Letters to the Editor – re D. Lynch and Gap Filler – Christchurch Mail – 26 June 2014
Filling important gaps – Christchurch Mail – 26 June 2014
Johnny Moore: Gap Filler criticism ‘absurd’ – The Press – 26 June 2014
‘Messy’ Gap Filler site should go – Christchurch Mail – 19 June 2014
Making space for place – Landscape Architecture NZ – June 2014
Gap Filler – Landscape Architecture Korea – June 2014
Let the city play – The Fuller Issue – May 2014
Christchurch communities create a modern take on the convenience store – Emailbox.co.nz – 29 May 2014
Amphitheatre for the former Pallet Pavilion site – The Press – 26 May 2014
Coming up with great gap fillers – The Press – 20 May 2014
Christchurch – The value of a city – Christchurch Film-maker Julian Vares – April 2014
Transitional projects boost economy – The Press – 27 April 2014
Christchurch after the earthquake: risen from the rubble – The Guardian – 11 April 2014
Coming to grips with bike rebuild – The Press – 11 April 2014
Pallet Pavilion goes out with a bang – The Press – 7 April 2014
Calm after the quake – Scotland on Sunday – 6 April 2014
Pallet Pavilion to shut doors in style – The Press – 4 April 2014
After earthquakes, a creative rebirth in Christchurch – New York Times (USA) – 4 April 2014
The art of renewal – KiaOra (Air NZ inflight magazine) – April 2014
Showing their true colours – and forgetting problems – The Press – 24 March 2014
Pavilion’s demise a relieves Gap Filler – The Press – 22 March 2014
Total rebuild – The Sydney Morning Herald – 22 March 2014
Colourful festival guaranteed – The Press – 20 March 2014
Kakapo sculptures hidden in Christchurch – The Press – 17 March 2014
NZ – Society – Inconvenience Store – Radio New Zealand – 14 March 2014
A pop-up shop that sells ‘inconvenient’ products – DesignTaxi (USA) – 10 March 2014
The Inconvenience Store – Radio Rhema – 10 March 2014
Hands-on help, a chair and a beer – The Press – 8 March 2014
Quirky shop focus on inconvenience – The Press – 8 March 2014
Pop-up shop embraces products of inconvenience – PSFK (USA) – 7 March 2014
Turning inconvenience into an art – The Press – 3 March 2014
Soundscapes of the city – The Press – 28 February 2014
This City Was in Ruins 3 Years Ago. Look at it now – Men’s Health Online Magazine (US) – 24 February 2014
Rising from the cracks – Your Weekend – The Press – 22-23 February 2014
Out of the rubble – The Weekend Australian (Magazine) – 22-23 February 2014
The city that survived – The Advertiser (South Australia) – 22 February 2014
Creative living in a transitional city – Your Weekend (The Press) – 16 February 2014
Freemasons fill a gap – Scoop, Independent News – 11 February 2014
Man-made stressors hinder ChCh quake recovery – The NZ Herald – 7 February 2014
Craft Kakapo an exhibition of kindness – The Press – 2 February 2014
Christchurch: after the earthquake, a city rebuilt in whose image? – The Guardian (UK) – 27 January 2014
Voices of the people – The Press – 17 January 2014
City’s vibrancy comes from its free thinkers – The Press – 16 January 2014
The Rebels just keep on with the swing – The Press – 16 January 2014
B-boy breakdancing hits Christchurch – The Press – 3 January 2014
52 Places to go in 2014 – The New York Times (USA) – January 2014

In the Media 2013

Rising up in the red zones of Christchurch – The Age (Australia) – 20 December 2013
Roll up, roll up for taste treats – The Press – 5 December 2013
Helping see the bigger picture for Christchurch – The Christchurch Mail – 4 December 2013
‘Feel good’ factor drives volunteers – The Press – 23 November 2013
Enhancing creative community resilience (Page 31) – Volume 2, Enabling Cities (Canada) – November 2013
Why you should visit Christchurch NOW – Travel Talk (Australian Travel Magazine) – November 2013
Matchmaker to the arts – The Press – 18 November 2013
Call for more cyclists in city – The Press – 28 October 2013
Weather no hindrance on Festa – The Press – 28 October 2013
Puppets parade through city streets – The Press – 28 October 2013
Canterbury crowds set pledging bar higher – The Press – 28 October 2013
Sweet sounds a contrast to demolition – The Nelson Mail – 27 October 2013
If these walls could talk – a roundtable discussion with Good’s global fellows – GOOD – October 2013
What I gained from my GOOD Pop-Up Fellowship – GOOD – 23 October 2013
A Canterbury tale of rebirth – The Press – 18 October 2013
Influentials: Unlocking potentials – The Listener – 19 September 2013
Micro-village sprouts in city – The Press – 17 September 2013
A successful city that we can be proud of – The Press – 13 September 2013
New Zealand: New ways to see Christchurch – NZ Herald – 28 August 2013
Fellows working for change experience Downtown Farmers’ Market – Santa Monica Daily Post (USA) – 21 August 2013
Mural-poem honours victim – The Press – 19 August 2013
Tipping Point (Human Scale) – The Press – 1 August 2013
The Pallet Pavilion – Landscape Architecture Australia – August 2013
Outside the square – The Press – 30 July 2013
City groups unearth new openings – Christchurch Mail – 25 July 2013
Christchurch’s lessons for a better world – The Press – 22 July 2013
Become lost in a fake natural paradise – The Press – 8 July 2013
Pallet palette – The Press – 28 June 2013
Shifting landscapes in-between times – Harvard Design Magazine (America) – Winter 2013
Landscape is temporary – Architecture (Australia) – 27 June 2013
Pallet pavilion ready for summer events – 24 June 2013
Reprieve for venue – The Press (Australia) – 10 June 2013
After the quakes – ABC Radio (Australia) – 9 June 2013
Excellent result on the Pallet Pavilion – The Press – 7 June 2013
Christchurch city update – Travel Blackboard (Australia) – 6 June 2013
Christchurch rushes to save the Pallet Pavilion – 3 News – 5 June 2013
Dance like a city depends on it – Rotorua Daily Post – 4 June 2013
Too many car parks in the city – Gap Filler – The Press – 3 June 2013
Christchurch: badly shaken but far from deterred – The Telegraph (UK) – Winter 2013
Support Pallet Pavilion and back the city’s creative future – The Press – 30 May 2013
How far have we come since September 2010? – The Press – 30 May 2013
Christchurch, une ville en transition – Traces (Switzerland) – 29 May 2013
Dance-O-Mat to hibernate for winter – The Press – 29 May 2013
Spirits soar when people share soup – The Press – 22 May 2013
Saving pavilion aim of campaign – Mainland Press – 20 May 2013
Future of pallet pavilion up to the public – The Press – 20 May 2013
Quake thrusting young people into leadership – The Press – 16 May 2013
Global push to save Pallet Pavilion – The Press – 15 May 2013
Gap Filler creator calls for use of vacant sites – Taranaki Daily News – 29 April 2013
Pleas to retain Pallet Pavilion longer – The Press – 27 April 2013
Let’s help get temporary buildings off the ground – The Press – 24 April 2013
What shall we do with the pint-sized pirate? – The Press – 15 April 2013
Who is really rebuilding Christchurch? – The Press – 15 April 2013
Keeping calm, carrying on – Guardian News (U.K.) – 15 April 2013
Poetry projects pop up around city – The Press – 11 April 2013
Out of the rubble: Christchurch Christchurch still bears the scars of earthquake devastation but is finding creative ways to get back on its feet – The Daily Mail (U.K.) – 11 April 2013
Blackadder star spotted around Christchurch – The Press – 11 April 2013
Mini-golf comes to central city – The Press – 10 April 2013
Vacant space a gap for growth – The Press – 8 April 2013
Creating Spaces – AA Directions – April 2013
Heartbeat City – North and South – April 2013
Rebuilding the community spirit of Christchurch – Flight Centre Travel Blog (Australia) – 27 March 2013
Colour out of confusion – Habitat, the Resene magazine – Winter 2013
A city reborn – Australian Geographic – March 2013
Gap Filler Summer Pallet Pavilion – Future Christchurch, Christchurch City Council – 26.03.13
Placeshakers and Earthquakers – Desktop Magazine (Australia) – 20.03.13
Quake gaps prove fertile fields for creativity – Newcastle Herald (Australia) – 14.03.13
Exhibition marks wealth of restoration projects – Newcastle Herald (Australia) – 13.03.13
Gap Filler invited to pass on creative knowledge The Press – 9.03.13
Dance-O-Mat’s new city beat The Press – 8.03.13
Four questions for the future – The Press – 22.02.13
Christchurch’s Journey to Recovery – BBC travel – 22.02.13
Christchurch earthquake second anniversary memorial services – TV3 – 22.02.13
Christchurch Revisited: Two years after the quake – Sherman Travel (blog), courtesy of Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism – 20.02.13
Night owls wanted to fill gaps – The Press – 13.02.13
Hop across the ditch for a pop-up adventure – Time Out (Melbourne) – 12.02.13
Viva la Volunteer – The Press – 3.02.13
Quake shakes up cultural ambitions and inspires a broken city – New Europe (Belgium) – 3.02.13
Christchurch’s Gap Filler – Design Assembly (Wellington) – 3.02.13
Summer Pallet Pavilion – a Community Venue – Zeppelin (Romania) – February 2013
Altitude: six degrees – Jetstar – February 2013
Town lit up by winning designer – The Press – 21.01.13
Making Christchurch so remarkable it can’t fail – The Marlborough Express – 4.1.13
Christchurch Rising – Coralie Winn – Voyeur Magazine, Virgin Australia – January 2013
Christchurch Liminal City – “LALA” – Melbourne, Australia – January 2013
Lonely Planet’s top 10 cities – Lonely Planet – January 2013

In the Media 2012

Filling the gaps – UC Research Report – 2012
Stacks of space for summer events at city site – The Press – 26 December 2012
Rethinking the Margins – Surface Asia magazine – December 2012
The Pallet Pavilion by Gap Filler – The Press – 24 December 2012
Put a coin in a converted washing machine for an instant dance party” – PSFK (U.S.A.) – 7 December 2012
Up Beat: Coralie Winn – Radio New Zealand – 5 December 2012
Cool things to do in Christchurch – Grab Your Fork (Sydney, Australia) – 3 December 2012
Bob Parker on ABC Radio talking about Gap Filler – Australia – November 2012
Exodus of young is a game changer – The Press – 26 November 2012
Dance ‘completes destiny’ – The Press – 18 November 2012
Prince Charles and Camilla, ballroom dance to jazz in New Zealand – The Huffington Post (U.K.) – 18 November 2012
New initiative to fill city’s gaps – The Press – 17 November 2012
Splash of colour for central city – The Press – 12 November 2012
Explosive artwork takes shape – The Press – 10 November 2012
Lecturer’s Gap Filler work awarded – The Press – 9 November 2012
Jetstar magazine – November 2012
Gruen Planet excerpt – YouTube – 29 October 2012
Christchurch: Lonely Planet boost for tourism – The NZ Herald – 23 October 2012
Making dreams reality: celebrating temporary public art – Scoop – 23 October 2012
Christchurch praised in Lonely Planet’s best travel guide – TVNZ – 22 October 2012
Global travel guide hails ChCh as top destination – The Press – 22 October 2012
Christchurch red zone lights up – The New Zealand Herald – 21 October 2012
Luxcity 2012 – lighting up Christchurch – The Listener – 20 October 2012
Christchurch should be transition capital – The Press – 18 October 2012
Waste not want not for Gap Filler’s latest project – The Press – 12 October 2012
Putter around the city – Family Times – October 2012
‘Dinosauna’ open to public – Bay Harbour News – 26 September 2012
Body Festival’s rolling start – The Press – 22 September 2012
Volunteers muck in to remove fences – The Press – 15 September 2012
Tony Burns “Motivation Man” interviews Coralie Winn – Plains FM – 10 September 2012
Big veggie gardens each side of the Avon proposed – The Press – 9 August 2012
Ideas for the future residential red zone – The Press – 9 August 2012
Out of a city’s silence flows poetry – The Press – 7 August 2012
ChCh teens celebrate return to heart of city – The Press – 5 August 2012
Filling the Gaps – CC Magazine – July 2012
Vacant lots being turned into city bright spots – The Press – 28-29 July 2012
Playing Favourites with Kim Hill – National Radio – 28 July 2012
Poetry scribbled on CBD wall – The Press – 27 July 2012
Property purchase follows adoption of Lyttelton Master plan by Council – Akaroa Mail – 27 July 2012
Lyttelton to get new heart – The Press – 19 July 2012
Monopoly for Manchester Street – The Press – 13 July 2012
Creative New Zealand Earthquake Grants Announced – Scoop – 10 July 2012
Gap Filler given $100k lifeline – The Press- 10 July 2012
Can Christchurch be revitalised? – The Listener – 16 June 2012
A temporary long-term solution – The Press – 26 May 2012
Two Takes on Christchurch- The City Transformed – Art New Zealand – Winter, 2012
Is corporate culture choking the creative? – The Press – 5 May 2012
French announced as 7th SCAPE curator – Scoop – 23 April 2012
Graffiti artists bring colour to Christchurch – The Press – 14 April 2012
Arts scene centre stage – Avenues Magazine – 28 Mar 2012
The Superhero Dance Squad – YouTube – 28 Mar 2012
Dance-o-mat – The Salt Blog – 28 Mar 2012
Coralie Winn radio interview – 95bFM – 26 Mar 2012
Gap Filler – Mode de Vie – 23 Mar 2012
Roger Sutton: Work & Play – The Star – 23 Mar 2012
Dance-o-Mat – South Island Dance Network – 16 Mar 2012
Gap Filler – The Tindall Foundation – 16 Mar 2012
Cycle Powered Cinema video – Youtube – 16 Mar 2012
Public art workshops for Christchurch – Scoop Independent – 15 Mar 2012
Lecture highlights human reaction to natural crises – Vermont Cynic (USA) – 14 Mar 2012
Coralie on The Arts on Sunday – RadioNZ – 11 March 2012
Coralie on the BBC – BBC – 6 Mar 2012
Use of Vacant Land pondered – The Press – 2 Mar 2012
Gap Filler struggles for activity sites – The Press – 1 March 2012
A temporary fix – Architectural Record – 23 Feb 2012
Gap Filler: urban renewal in Christchurch – Heritage Hill – 23 Feb 2012
Taking a city from shell to shipshape – Brisbane Times (Aus) – 22 Feb 2012
Christchurch one year on – The Listener – 22 Feb 2012
Christchurch: Australia’s up & coming capital – Wanderlust (UK) – 22 Feb 2012
Silver lining to earthquake devastation – TV3 (video) – 22 Feb 2012
Art – CANTA Magazine – 22 Feb 2012
Christchurch earthquake one year on – Guardian (UK) – 19 Feb 2012
Creative projects undertaken in Christchurch – Travel & Tour World (US) – 14 Feb 2012
Cycle Cinema on TVOne Breakfast (video, starts at 2:08:50) – 10 Feb 2012
On yer bike to see the movies in Christchurch – The Press – 12 Feb 2012
Popcorn and pedalling: cycle-powered cinema in Christchurch – Telegraph (Australia) – 10 Feb 2012
Civic Spirit helps Lyttelton rebuild – The Press – 10 Feb 2012
What to do in Christchurch: your post-quake guide – Lonely Planet – 10 Jan 2012
Christchurch City, My Home Town – YouTube music video featuring three Gap Filler sites – Jan 2012
Return of eateries, music lifts Lyttelton – The Press – 12 Jan 2012
Office set to rise up from the rubble – The Press – 11 Jan 2012
Tea Party Fills a Gap After Mad Year – The Press – 2 Jan 2012

In the Media 2011

2011 in Review – The Listener – 30 Dec 2011
Berlin Through Christchurch Coloured Glasses – Art News – Summer 2011
Shadowboard Mural Sees the Light of Day – The Press – 20 Dec 2011
Painted Pianos Spring Up in Empty Sites – The Press – 9 Dec 2011
Mayor to Contact Owners of Eyesore – The Press – 7 Dec 2011
Sydenham Wall Gets New Look – The Press – 5 Dec 2011
Berlin through Christchurch coloured glasses – Art News – Summer 2011
Giant chess on TVNZ breakfast – TVNZ Breakfast, 30 Nov 2011
Giant Chess Set for Sydenham – The Press – 25 Nov 2011
Positive Attitude Brings Rewards – The Press – 17 Nov 2011
Coralie and the Book Fridge on tv – Media7 – 3 Nov 2011
Newcastle Renew Project Shows Way – The Press – 28 Oct 2011
A Bodice Ripper without the Bodice – Blog Idle – 8 Sept 2011
Colouring a Corner – Blog – 4 Sept 2011
Gap Filler scheme a success in Christchurch – The Listener (Hamish Keith) – 16 Aug 2011
Silt used to strengthen spirit – The Press – 10 Aug 2011
Editorial: Another Challenge – The Press – 26 July 2011
Fridge a Magnet for Book Lovers – The Press – 24 July 2011
Loved Books get an Outing – The Press – 18 July 2011
A little retail therapy and a lot of laughter – The Press – 18 July 2011
Gap Filler and Greening the Rubble to Benefit from CCC Annual Plan – CCC website – 30 June 2011
Mind the Gaps – The Press – 26 June 2011
School makes gap-filler city their classroom – The Press – 2 June 2011
Clever Ideas Lift Spirits at sad sites – The Press – 28 May 2011
Filling Earthquake Gaps the Creative Way – The Press – 26 May 2011
CPIT students fill in Gaps in Chch city – THE BIG IDEA – 26 May 2011
Huge Opportunity to Restore Chch as the Best Garden City in the World – InfoNews – 20 May 2011
Gap Filler and Greening the Rubble – RadioNZ National, Nights with Bryan Crump (mp3 audio, 20 minutes)
The Young and Not So Restless – The Press – 28 April 2011
Breathing Life into the Void – The Press – 21 April 2011
Get Local – 12 April 2011
Delaney Davidson video – April 2011
Rebuilding Christchurch – 1 April 2011
Garden City Quake – Blog – 8 March 2011

In the Media 2010

Mind this Gap – 26 Nov 2010
GardenCityQuake Article about Gap Filler #2 – 63 Worcester Boulevard

Our Values

We encourage and promote strong and flourishing communities, by giving people a chance to participate in creative projects that shape the places around them. Communities are strongest when members are working together.

We are leaders, expressing our values through fearless implementation. Whether blazing a new trail, keeping it in good order, motivating people to follow it, or telling stories along the way – we lead from the front, middle or back with clear purpose and intent.

Resourcefulness to us means a commitment to all R’s and full lifecycle thinking in everything we do. It also means valuing people’s time and energy (often beyond project budgets), and constantly searching for ways to develop community resources.

We value trying out new things and not repeating ourselves, taking calculated risks to lead by example. We challenge ourselves to keep stretching boundaries, and innovating in new ways to grow community in any context.

Collaboration unlocks creative potential. We believe in seeking out partners to implement ideas together, as well as cooperating to realise others’ ideas. We often act as ‘translator’ to bring disparate groups together, finding a common language and promoting shared understanding.

We esteem the spirit of innovation, exploring new ways of engaging, creating and realising ideas, honouring and promoting creative practice and process. Playfulness is our niche: we use surprise and delight in abundance, and try to merge optimism and critical thinking.

We strive to honour the Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti in our projects, approach and relationships. We believe in honouring the stories and histories of our places – Ōtautahi Christchurch and Aotearoa New Zealand. We seek to always do better and understand that we still have much to learn.

We recognise the importance of mana whenua as kaitiaki of Aoteaora. We seek to practice kaitiaki tanga in our placemaking work to make our places and people healthier and better connected to one another.

There are, these days, a lot of people interested in the area of placemaking. A vitally important part of what it needs to be, in order to be truly effective, is to know the why. Gap Filler have been a compass point for me since I started in this work – reminding me of the importance of humour, generosity, deep thinking and courage. Their ability to straddle strategic thinking and effective on-the-ground outputs, and everything in between, make them a unique and vital leader in this, ever expanding, field of trying to make places better for people.

Frith Walker

Head of Placemaking, Panuku Development Auckland