esk and us

esk and us is about the street, those who work on it and those of us who visit. It is a place in Invercargill where everybody has some connection to or memory of. 

Esk Street lies a short distance from where Māori would land their waka (at the corner of Dee and Tay) and is the site of the first European house built by John Kelly. It forms the beginning of our city in the era of settlers.

It is a different place from 200 years ago and indeed to 10 years ago. Esk Street is in a state of renewal and to make new, often we must dig up the old. The Open Air Museum is about the old, the new, connections, stories, and memories; a chance to capture a moment in time, one which celebrates the change as the change takes place. It is dirty, it is incomplete, it is ugly… or is it?

The Open Air Museum was open every day through March and April 2022.

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