esk and us

esk and us is a site-specific community art project made in collaboration with Jay Coote and Tim Fletcher, set on Esk Street in Waihōpai Invercargill, NZ. The street carries layers of history, from its proximity to where Maori would land their waka, to the site of the first European house built by John Kelly. It is a place where almost everyone in the city holds some connection or memory.

The project took the form of an Open Air Museum, running through March and April 2022, during a period of renewal and change on the street. Rather than document what was being lost, it chose to be present in the middle of it, capturing a moment of change as the change was taking place.

The project by Nela Fletcher, Jay Coote and Tim Fletcher has been made possible by these supporters: Arts Murihiku, ICC Wellbeing Fund, ILT Foundation, Community Trust South, Neighbourhood Retailers Group, Tuurama Trust, and Invercargill City Centre Governance Group.