Givealittle has selected hundreds of the messages that were left on the Christchurch Victim Support Givealittle page and has shared them in a visual display.

The website's project, In Our Words, was launched "so that the feeling of solidarity and unity expressed on this page can continue on even though it has now closed".

The crowdfunding website chose a selection of the over 36,000 comments from the page and has turned it into an incredible display in an artwork, a book and a website.

 

A book of comments will also be given to Victim Support and support workers as a gift to those affected. Photo / Givealittle

 

The project has been endorsed by Victim Support and representatives of the Muslim community.

The Christchurch Victim Support page, which closed on May 30, became the largest page in Givealittle's 10-year history.

It raised over $10.7m, generating 97k donations from 139 countries.

Mel Steel, head of customer care for Givealittle said the page became a symbol of public unity and she wanted to words to remain after the page closed.

"After the [Christchurch] attacks, Givealittle became a place for New Zealand and the world to share their outrage and grief at what happened and express support for those affected," Steel said.

 

The crowdfunding website has chosen a selection of over 36,000 comments from the page and has turned it into an incredible display. Photo / Givealittle

 

"There was a lot of coverage about the amount raised. Whilst the monetary donations are just incredible and much appreciated by the Muslim community, we wanted to make sure the messages written in the donation comments were not lost.

"It doesn't matter if you donated $5 or $5000, these heartfelt messages are an important display of unity.

"What better way to thank the world for their support than by reflecting their own words in beautiful artwork and making it accessible to all."

The In Our Words artwork displays the comments in a spiral to express the on-going support, peace and unity from New Zealanders following the attack, and into the future.

 

The crowdfunding website has chosen a selection of over 36,000 comments from the page and has turned it into an incredible display in an artwork, a book and a website. Photo / Givealittle

 

The local artist behind the image, Chris Hutchinson, revealed his thinking behind the artwork.

"I wanted to give the comments a never-ending shape to articulate our collective commitment to on-going unity," Hutchinson said.

"In a sense, I think we can all feel spoken for by these words. I hoped to give each comment a timeless quality, by creating a piece people can return back to."

The project also features bespoke calligraphy by local calligrapher, Arfa Yasin.

The artwork and comments also feature on a specially created website inourwords.co.nz.

 

The website's project, In Our Words, was launched so that the feeling of solidarity and unity expressed on this page can continue on even though it has now closed. Photo / Givealittle

 

A book of comments will also be given to Victim Support and support workers as a gift to those affected.

Kevin Tso, chief executive at Victim Support, said: "It's hard to find words that express the pain and grief after these horrific events. These words show kindness in the face of tragedy, and people coming together in unity through giving.

"We're proud to endorse a project that recognises the united and unbreakable spirit of all New Zealanders, as well as people from around the world."

In Our Words has been enabled by Spark Foundation and advertising agency, Colenso BBDO.

People still wishing to support victims of the attacks can donate to the Christchurch Foundation's Our City, Our People fund at www.christchurchfoundation.org.nz.