C-Story
Categories
Placemaking
Client
Karangahape Road Business Association, Icon Property Group
Project
C-Story
Services
Programme Design Partnership Management Sponsorship Procurement Creative Direction Curation Production
Year
2018 - 2022
The project began with a question of perspective - how creative storytelling might expand our collective horizons as the city became increasingly sanitised and constrained.
Developed with Cindy Leong, C Story brought together voices including Chloe Swarbrick, Paloma Schneideman, Chippy Draws, and Arkita Singh to explore how narrative shapes the way we see, inhabit, and challenge Tamaki Makaurau. The platform merged conversation, creative practice, and public engagement into a shared framework - holding distinct voices within a wider discourse.
Grounded in the erosion of artistic infrastructure following the super city transition and the disestablishment of the Auckland Arts Trust, the work responded by prioritising multiplicity, nuance, and critical reflection.
Creativity was positioned as both inquiry and a means of reimagining the city.
The project began with a question of perspective - how creative storytelling might expand our collective horizons as the city became increasingly sanitised and constrained.
Developed with Cindy Leong, C Story brought together voices including Chloe Swarbrick, Paloma Schneideman, Chippy Draws, and Arkita Singh to explore how narrative shapes the way we see, inhabit, and challenge Tamaki Makaurau. The platform merged conversation, creative practice, and public engagement into a shared framework - holding distinct voices within a wider discourse.
Grounded in the erosion of artistic infrastructure following the super city transition and the disestablishment of the Auckland Arts Trust, the work responded by prioritising multiplicity, nuance, and critical reflection.
Creativity was positioned as both inquiry and a means of reimagining the city.
The resulting programme held space for stories that resist simplification — positioning creativity as both a method of inquiry and a tool for reimagining the possibilities of Tamaki Makaurau.
Working closely as collaborators, we extended the platform into a visual and spatial language that was adaptable yet grounded in the realities of Karangahape Road. Graphics, typography, and material choices were developed to reflect both the immediacy of the conversations and the layered histories of the area.
The resulting programme held space for stories that resist simplification — positioning creativity as both a method of inquiry and a tool for reimagining the possibilities of Tamaki Makaurau.
Working closely as collaborators, we extended the platform into a visual and spatial language that was adaptable yet grounded in the realities of Karangahape Road. Graphics, typography, and material choices were developed to reflect both the immediacy of the conversations and the layered histories of the area.
Each element was tested across formats — from editorial content to physical interventions - ensuring a consistent presence while allowing for expression and evolution.
This translated into a series of merchandise and pop-up activations along Karangahape Road, designed to both promote the collective and re-engage the street as a site of creative production. The pop-ups foregrounded the area's unique communities and its legacy of artist-run spaces, creating moments of visibility, exchange, and occupation within a rapidly changing urban environment. The result was a system that moved fluidly between idea, object, and place — reinforcing identity while actively contributing to the cultural life of the street.
Each element was tested across formats — from editorial content to physical interventions - ensuring a consistent presence while allowing for expression and evolution.
This translated into a series of merchandise and pop-up activations along Karangahape Road, designed to both promote the collective and re-engage the street as a site of creative production. The pop-ups foregrounded the area's unique communities and its legacy of artist-run spaces, creating moments of visibility, exchange, and occupation within a rapidly changing urban environment. The result was a system that moved fluidly between idea, object, and place — reinforcing identity while actively contributing to the cultural life of the street.
