Revitalise Our Places Ōamaru

Scenes By Sammy Pop up

North Otago Photographic Society Pop up

Waitaki District Council is excited to announce the launch of Revitalise Our Places Ōamaru (ROPO), a brokerage programme that will turn empty shops from vacant into vibrant. This programme represents a significant milestone in our CBD Revitalisation plan to add vibrancy back to our main street.

As a response to the community’s post-pandemic concerns about the number of vacant spaces and closed businesses in our shopping area along Thames Street, a six-month pilot brokerage project is designed to fill these spaces for 30 day periods in-between the times when there is a commercial tenant. These programmes are about highlighting people making and presenting original items, ideas, concepts and interactions with their pop-ups.

This programme will showcase or ‘stage’ these empty spaces with 'Pop ups' to highlight the opportunities within them and support attraction of new long-term commercial tenants.

Waitaki District Council is proud to be bringing this programme to Ōamaru. Designed not to compete with the existing businesses, only to add to the CBD’s experience by supporting our local creative community to showcase their artistry and talent.

If you're interested in applying to join our Pop up community, use the form below:

Application/enquiry form

Revitalise our Places Ōamaru: Scenes By Sammy @ 167 Thames

Sammy’s passion in life are photography, art, music and hiking.
She loved being behind the camera since a child, her first job being at her cousins wedding at the age of 8. She managed to cut off the groom’s head in every photo. His in-laws were secretly happy. She has come a long way since then.

Revitalise our Places Ōamaru: N.O. Photographic Society @ 149 Thames

The North Otago Photographic Society is a group of mostly amateur photographers located across North Otago who share a passion for a wide range of photographic styles.
Our members come from all walks of life and are at various stages in their pursuit of photography. We welcome photographers at all skill levels and without regard to what equipment they use.