The temporary Octopoda installation will light up Albert Square until the end of the month at a cost of $17,500. Photo / Paul Taylor
The temporary Octopoda installation will light up Albert Square until the end of the month at a cost of $17,500. Photo / Paul Taylor
Two new sculptures have arrived in Hastings, at a cost of $77,500.
A permanent $60,000 sculpture will be the centrepiece at the new-look Landmarks Square, while the temporary Octopoda will light up Albert Square until the end of the month at a cost of $17,500.
Set to reopen on Friday,the inner-city square has been renovated, providing space for a stage, more seating, new toilets and the sculpture.
Prunus Awanui was made and designed by Hawke's Bay artist Philipp Meier.
Hastings District Council said the artwork represents a cherry blossom, reflecting the district's position as the fruit bowl of New Zealand, the cherry trees which adorn the streets and the significance of the Hastings Blossom Festival.
A $60,000 sculpture entitled 'Prunus Awanui' will be the centrepiece at Landmarks Square in Hastings. Photo / Paul Taylor
The total cost of the sculpture was $60,000.
A total of $35,000 came from the Hastings City Centre Revitalisation Strategy Budget, while $15,000 and $10,000 came from the Landmarks Trust (Abbott Bequest) and HDC's city centre arts budget respectively.
Octopoda, installed in celebration of Recreation Aotearoa Parks Week and Seaweek – Kaupapa Moana, will be in Albert Square until March 28.
HDC city centre activation officer Andrea Taaffe said the installation, created by interactive lighting and design studio Amigo and Amigo, provides synergy with its alignment to both celebrations.
The artwork, which features eight tentacle drums, each activating a unique display of colour, cost $17,500 - $12,500 of this came from the city centre activation fund and $5,000 from private sponsorship.
Octopoda, installed in celebration of Recreation Aotearoa Parks Week and Seaweek - Kaupapa Moana, will be in Albert Square until March 28. Photo / Supplied
The Landmarks Square renovations are the tenth of 23 projects in Hastings city centre to be completed as part of the council's revitalisation plan.
Jazz pianist Wil Sargisson and singer Margot Pierard will be the first to grace the new stage when they play at the reopening this week.
The square will also honour the late Jeremy Dwyer, the Hastings mayor who introduced the Landmarks philosophy to the district.
A story board in the park explains how Dwyer was elected mayor in the 1980s in a city that was struggling after a number of economic shocks, and the philosophy he put in place to bring it back to life.
His wife Marilyn Dwyer, who will unveil the sculpture in his honour, said she sometimes wished he could have seen the progress.
"But then I realise he saw it in his vision and I know he would be absolutely delighted and proud," she said.
Marilyn said her husband was driven not only by his desire to bring Hastings through difficult times, but by his vision for the Hawke's Bay region as a whole.
"He often said he was a person who refused to be defined by man-made lines drawn on a map," she added.
Artist Meier, whose work can be found in private collections and sculptural playgrounds across Australasia, said he was inspired by Jeremy Dwyer's vision.
"I wanted to create a piece that would be a tribute to his dream of a bountiful, prosperous community, a region rich in growth and beauty, and celebrate the Hastings we have today as a result of that vision," he said.
The official reopening of Landmarks Square will begin at 5pm tomorrow.
