Since 2014, XCHC has served as a vital creative and social hub in Ōtautahi. Operating out of a 400m² industrial heritage building, XCHC has provided space for creative expression and resources for individuals and communities to connect and develop their networks, skills, passions, and ideas.

We've facilitated more than 1,000 music events, workshops, fundraisers, and exhibitions, mostly with emerging artists who might otherwise find it challenging to progress without space, or feedback/encouragement from like-minded people.

Since the beginning, XCHC's aim was to operate as a financially self-sustaining model, exploring how creative spaces can operate without ongoing grant dependency. This has been an incredibly challenging journey, but it has also been an incredibly rewarding journey full of lessons in resourcefulness and communal effort. This has also meant adapting our model to the needs of the community as they've evolved; serving those that came to us with different concepts and proposed uses of the space.

Although our relationships have spanned across many social and environmental projects and groups, our mission centers on cultural diversity and democratizing creative development. We live in an increasingly polarized world, and cultural literacy education tends to thrive when there's a space dedicated to helping those expressions surface in a non-prescribed/natural way alongside like-minded people.

Although XCHC often promotes the activities/events here, it's impact has always been more behind the scenes; where members and guests spend time not performing, but connecting over our shared love for creativity, music, dancing, food, and life.

(p.s. the dance parties are out the gate)