Sculpture for Victoria Sq
A new $319,000 taxpayer-funded sculpture paying tribute to the Treaty of Waitangi signatories is likely to be installed in Christchurch’s Victoria Square.
Two 4.75 metre-tall upright waka, titled Mana Motuhake, are being gifted to the Christchurch City Council by Crown rebuild company O¯ ta¯karo, which commissioned the work.
The artwork, by carver Fayne Robinson, commemorates the significant Treaty signatories and by extension would support the achievements and memory of Queen Victoria, a council report said.
The waka, which will be installed in February 2019, will be situated close to the statue of Queen Victoria, near the Armagh/Colombo streets corner.
There will also be secondary artwork including light post wraps that will honour the varieties of food that had been traded in the square.
The council has estimated the artwork will cost $6600 a year to maintain based on a monthly clean. O¯ ta¯ karo will pay the maintenance bill for the first 12 months and then the costs will be passed on to the council. But the additional cost has not yet been budgeted.
At the council’s Social, Community Development and Housing Committee yesterday, Cr Phil Clearwater said the Mana Motuhake was a significant artwork in the city and it would look ‘‘quite beautiful in Victoria Square’’.
‘‘It’s going to be really important for the future of our city.’’
Cr Yani Johanson said he was concerned about the high cost of maintenance and asked staff if they had approached Nga¯ i Tahu to help pay to maintain it. The council had not.
The artwork was being gifted at a time when the council was struggling to meet the cost of maintaining its 91 pieces of public art dotted throughout the city and across Banks Peninsula.
Twenty-three pieces of public art have been added to the council’s collection since 2010 – a 34 per cent increase.
Council staff had requested an additional $50,000 in the 2019-20 financial year to maintain artwork added since 2010, on top of the $95,500 already budgeted, taking the annual public art maintenance cost to $145,500.
In 2008, artwork maintenance cost $75,950.