Ravenscar House Museum, one of Ōtautahi Christchurch’s finest art treasures, is free to enjoy on Saturday 5 September and Sunday 6 September.

The Museum is home to works by much-loved Aotearoa New Zealand artists like Frances Hodgkins, Colin McCahon, Ralph Hotere, Bill Sutton and Rita Angus. The collection of around 300 paintings and objects also features intricate glassworks, beautiful furniture and ancient Roman jewellery.

The House itself is also a work of art, with a series of striking spaces arranged around an internal courtyard along with a landscaped garden studded with contemporary sculptures. The building’s architectural awards include best new cultural building at the World Architecture Festival in 2023 and a win at the New Zealand Architecture Awards in 2024.

The building houses one of the most significant private art collections in Aotearoa, assembled by Susan and Jim Wakefield. After the Waitaha Canterbury earthquakes, the Wakefields built an extraordinary new home for the collection in the heart of Ōtautahi and gifted the building to the city.