The Wellington Sculpture Trust 1983 - 2025
In 1983 the Wellington Sculpture Trust registered as a Charitable Trust and so started 42 years of voluntary and dedicated work to provide innovative, contemporary public art for Wellington City.
Over this time the Trust has installed permanent works within the city centre, the Botanic Gardens, the waterfront, and along Cobham Drive near the Wellington International airport. Add to this the 11 temporary sculptures: 9 on the four plinths between the waterfront and Te Papa; the temporary commissioning and installation of Quasi on top of the City Gallery in 2021 and the virtual sculpture HALO that hung over Wellington harbour in 2023 - it is a considerable legacy by any standard.
It all started with a group of passionate individuals who came together to raise money for a work by Tanya Ashken to be installed on Wellington’s waterfront. Albatross was the start of the Trust and a collection of public works of art that have received high levels of national and international recognition, won awards, and featured in major art histories and catalogues. Some have become icons of Wellington, particularly Neil Dawson’s Ferns above Civic Square.
The Trust’s work since inception has involved rigorous processes in selecting and commissioning works and the undertaking of considerable fundraising efforts to realise them for the city. Supported by the Wellington City Council, arts advisers, artists, trustees and the myriad of donors without whom the Trust could not install the works.
The Trust set about creating sculpture walks, first focusing on the Botanic Gardens (6), then came the city centre with works installed along Lambton Quay (4) and other parts of the CBD (8), Cobham Drive in the form of the Meridian Energy Wind Sculpture Walkway (5), and works across the waterfront (4).
Recognising the possibilities for not only the city but emerging artists, and with a willingness to push its commissioning practices into new territories, in 2006 the Trust saw the possibility represented by the four bollards that sat between the forecourt of Te Papa and Wellington’s waterfront.
Now the Colin Post 4 Plinths Sculpture Project, the trust set about providing an open competitive award for temporary sculpture to sit on the plinths, revolving in tune with the biennial International Festival of the Arts).
In 2013 the Trust instigated the New Zealand version of PARKing Day. Every year the Wellington Sculpture Trust, in partnership with the Wellington City Council, takes over 30 car parks in Cuba Street for an 8-hour period. The event is an opportunity for Wellingtonians to enjoy a wide variety of activities and creative installations placed on spaces usually reserved for cars. Over the ten years it has been running, hundreds of individuals and organisations have taken up the challenge to provide a temporary public space one car park at a time in Wellington’s most vibrant precinct.
The Sculpture Trust adds extraordinary value to Wellington, and nationally to sculptural practice. Its contribution to Wellington has been enduring and enriches the visual, aesthetic, and creative atmosphere of the city, making art accessible and greatly adding to the reputation Wellington has gained as the creative capital.
Over its 42 years this group of volunteers has donated to Wellington well over $8.5m worth of contemporary art, and it has every intention of continuing to give to the city, to sculptural practice, and work with dedication to unlock multiple histories, stories and experiences.
