Wellington Sculpture Trust

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The Wellington Sculpture Trust is an independent charitable trust which funds and advocates for public sculptures in Wellington, New Zealand. It is funded by private and corporate donations and works with the Wellington City Council. It has commissioned and bought sculptures sited in the Botanic Garden, Cobham Drive at the head of Evans Bay in Rongotai, the Wellington waterfront and Lambton Quay in the central city.

Contents

History

Albatross by Tanya Ashken Albatross sculpture from above.jpg
Albatross by Tanya Ashken

In 1982 funds were needed to install Albatross a statue on the waterfront by Tanya Ashken. The Wellington City Council had agreed to a site on the waterfront but funding for the sculpture had to be found. After the initial fundraising for Albatross Henry Lang and Dr Ian Prior formed the Trust in 1983 to advocate for public sculptures and provide financial support. [1] [2] During the demolition and rebuilding which occurred in Wellington city in the 1980s the Trust saw that public sculptures would enhance cultural and spiritual values as the city was redeveloped. [1] [2]

The Trust is funded by private citizens, businesses and other bodies. [1] It works in partnership with the Wellington City Council. [3] It has had a partnership with Meridian Energy to create the Meridian Energy Wellington Wind Sculptures on Cobham Drive and the Griffin Charitable Trust for the Lambton Quay works. [4] [5] [6]

In 2002–2003 the Trust organised a Lambton Quay Sculpture Competition which resulted in several sculptures in the city centre: Spinning Top by Robert Jahnke, Invisible City by Anton Parsons, Shells by Jeff Thomson and Protoplasm by Phil Price. [1] [6]

In 2007 Neil Plimmer, the Trust's chair, wrote that the Trust had commissioned 19 public sculptures since 1982. [1] By 2023 the Trust had installed 30 sculptures. [7]

Neil Plimmer was chairperson from 2001 to 2013 and Sue Elliott became chair in 2013. [4] [8]

Since 2014 the Trust has organised PARK(ing) Day, an annual event in which parking spaces in Cuba Street have been taken over by a variety of artists and others to examine how public spaces are used. [9]

Selected sculptures

Listening and Viewing Device by Andrew Drummond Listening and viewing Device - Andrew Drummond0001.png
Listening and Viewing Device by Andrew Drummond

Botanic Garden

Wind sculpture walk, Cobham Drive

Pacific Grass by Kon Dimopoulos Kon Dimopoulos - Pacific Grass - Wellington0005.png
Pacific Grass by Kon Dimopoulos

Five kinetic sculptures make up the Wind Sculpture Walk on Cobham Drive. [12] [13] The sculptures were designed to take advantage of the windy location. [13]

Central city


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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Wellington : a city for sculpture. Jenny Harper, Aaron Lister, Bruce Connew, Wellington Sculpture Trust. Wellington [N.Z.]: Victoria University Press in association with Wellington Sculpture Trust. 2007. pp. 35–39, 137–140. ISBN   978-0-86473-570-6. OCLC   174080777. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. 1 2 3 Elliott, Sue (25 December 2022). "How an unassuming albatross became a rallying call for public sculpture in Wellington". Stuff. Archived from the original on 1 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  3. ↑ "Sculptures and memorials". Wellington City Council. 2 November 2020. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Boyd, Sarah (24 July 2004). "Out there". The Dominion Post. pp. E5.
  5. 1 2 3 "Wind Sculpture opened for viewing". gg.govt.nz. 6 May 2010. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Elliott, Sue (8 January 2023). "The story behind Robert Jahnke's Spinning Top off Wellington's Golden Mile". Stuff. Archived from the original on 8 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 Elliot, Sue (22 January 2023). "Kaiwhakatere/The Navigator: Symbolic structures visual markers of the arrival and settlement of two cultures". Stuff. Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  8. ↑ "Wellington Sculpture Trust Change of Chairman". www.scoop.co.nz. 3 May 2013. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  9. ↑ "Park(ing) Day 2022 - Friday 4 March". www.scoop.co.nz. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  10. ↑ Elliott, Sue (1 January 2023). "How a now-defunct council scheme helped bring Henry Moore's art to the capital". Stuff. Archived from the original on 1 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  11. ↑ Dunn, Michael (2002). New Zealand sculpture : a history. Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland University Press. p. 128. ISBN   1-86940-277-4. OCLC   51037059. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  12. ↑ Stocker, Mark (2014). "Wind Sculpture Walk". teara.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  13. 1 2 Elliott, Sue (15 January 2023). "A journey of sculpture along Wellington's windy Cobham Drive". Stuff. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  14. ↑ "Third Work In Wind Sculpture Series Announced". www.scoop.co.nz. 25 June 2004. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  15. ↑ Woolf, Amber-Leigh (27 June 2018). "Work finally begins on reinstalling Wellington's Ferns sculpture after three years". Stuff. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  16. ↑ Elliott, Sue (29 January 2023). "Joe Sheehan walks the line with elegant simplicity". Stuff. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  17. ↑ Chumko, Andre (5 October 2021). "Shipwreck sculpture at the heart of Wellington waterfront redevelopment". Stuff. Archived from the original on 23 November 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  18. ↑ Chumko, André (23 November 2022). "Sculpture honouring Plimmer's Ark unveiled on Wellington's waterfront". Stuff. Archived from the original on 23 November 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
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