Artwork repairs to cost up to $121,000
More than $120,000 could be needed to keep a prominent public sculpture atop its pedestal in Lower Hutt.
A conservation assessment by the Hutt City Council’s arts and culture subcommittee has found some of the city’s best-known public artworks to be in poor shape.
In particular need of conservation was Russell Clark’s Free Standing Forms, which had suffered from extensive weather damage.
The exterior of the sculpture, outside the Little Theatre in Queens Dr, had started crumbling away to expose the internal metal structure.
It has been enclosed in scaffolding and a protective wrap since July while council officers assessed what should be done to save the work.
Conservation work was estimated to cost up to $121, 000.
Two conservators had been approached for independent assessments of the sculpture, and both concluded the work would need to be removed to enable repairs.
Whether or not the work could be returned to outdoor display could be made only once restoration started.
An application had been made to Lotteries New Zealand’s Environment and Heritage Fund to cover two-thirds of the removal, storage and repair costs. The council would meet the remaining third.
The assessment found 17 of 28 public artworks in the city required work. Community services general manager Matt Reid said the council was in the same position as other authorities around the country, where public art had not been managed in a consistent way.
The council was now looking to manage and protect public art proactively, and a working group of officers was co-ordinating maintenance.
He said the council was keen to address the Clark sculpture before the next annual plan, and expected to know the outcome of its Lotteries Commission application in December.
An arts and culture subcommittee order paper said a decision to either store the sculpture until a restoration budget was confirmed, or remove and sell it would need to be made if the bid was unsuccessful.
Other works in need of work were the Louise Purvis sculpture at the Buick St fountain in Petone, which needed to be cleaned and recoated in a protective sealant, at an estimated cost of $10,000; and the AnneMarie van Splunter Play Modules in Dowse Square, whichhad suffered damage from heavy public use.
Costs to restore and coat the Play Modules in an anti-graffiti treatment were estimated at $8050.
Some of Debra Bustin’s Cement Fondue sculptures at Hikoikoi Park were found to be damaged beyond repair.
They were being removed, and Bustin had been contracted to repair the remaining works.