July 24, 2013
Otautahi fundraising for Parekowhai bull
Christchurch Art Gallery has started a campaign to raise funds to buy a sculpture by leading artist Michael Parekowhai of a bronze bull atop a grand piano.
The 1.7-tonne sculpture was part of the Te Aitanga ā Mahaki artist’s 2011 Venice Biennale installation On First Looking into Chapman's Homer.
Gallery director Jenny Harper says 50,000 people saw the work when it was displayed on an empty site in central Christchurch a year ago, and it became a symbol of hope in the earthquake-ravaged city.
She says the public fundraising campaign aims to raise $200,000, and money has also been pledged from the Christchurch Art Gallery Trust, the council's public arts fund and other sources.
The bull could be installed on the concourse in front of the Christchurch Art Gallery, which is set to reopen in mid-2015.
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