BicycleCinema.org
Commissioned card for Gap Filler's post-earthquake cycle-powered cinema in Christchurch with custom stands and LED feedback
Gap Filler — Cycle-Powered Cinema — Christchurch, 9 February 2012, post-earthquake placemaking; up to ~12 bikes on custom stands with LED feedback1 Image: BicycleCinema.org, drawn from the research corpus

Gap Filler — Cycle-Powered Cinema

New Zealand, Christchurch · Community project

Historical last verified 2026-09 No pedal-cinema activity documented since the 14 November 2015 Auckland screening.
Topology not documented
Up to about 12 bicycles on custom standsDocumented
  • Historical only
  • Split from an aggregated directory row

Websitehttps://gapfiller.org.nz/project/cycle-powered-cinema/

Gap Filler's Cycle-Powered Cinema, opened in Christchurch in February 2012, ran screenings from up to a dozen audience-pedalled bicycles. The arts trust staged it on a section cleared by the Canterbury earthquakes; a version travelled to Auckland's Silo Park in 2015.

Key facts

  • Debut

    Christchurch, 9 February 20121

    Documented

  • Bicycle stands

    Up to about 121

    Documented

  • Auckland revival

    Silo Park, 14 November 20151

    Documented

  • Feedback

    LED lights per rider showing power generated1

    Documented

“an open-air cinema powered entirely by stationary cyclists on a series of metal-and-cinderblock stands. Modules of LED lights strapped to each rider's handlebars indicate the amount of power he or she is generating.”

Architectural Record, on Gap Filler's Cycle-Powered Cinema, Christchurch1

Gap Filler has occupied earthquake-cleared sections of Christchurch with temporary creative projects since 2010, and in its own account this one introduced the cycle-powered cinema concept to New Zealand 1. The November 2015 Auckland screening was part of the Silo Park waterfront redevelopment programming, and no pedal-cinema activity by Gap Filler is documented since 1.

Specifications

What do these labels mean?

FieldValueConfidenceSources
Bicycle standsUp to about 12 custom stands with LED handlebar feedbackDescribed as 'metal-and-cinderblock' stands, each turning a dynamo.Documented1
Generator output per ridernot disclosedLED brightness signalled relative output; no wattage figure was published.Not disclosed1
Energy buffernot disclosedNo battery or capacitor is described in the record; the electrical topology is not documented.Not disclosed1
Installation dates9 February 2012 (Christchurch); 14 November 2015 (Auckland, Silo Park)Documented1
Volunteers set up bicycles on the concrete slab of a cleared lot, traffic cones at its edge — Gap Filler's project-page photograph of the Cycle-Powered Cinema
Photo: Gap Filler (gapfiller.org.nz) — via gapfiller.org.nz
Timeline strip of the installation's Christchurch debut and Auckland revival
Christchurch February 2012; Auckland November 20151 Image: BicycleCinema.org, drawn from the research corpus
Close-up of a bicycle clamped in one of the custom metal stands, a small generator pressed to the rear wheel, onlookers behind
Photo: Gap Filler (gapfiller.org.nz) — via gapfiller.org.nz

Sources

  1. [1]Gap Filler / Architectural Record / Trigger Marketingen.wikipedia.org

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