Background

The Richmond Community Garden was born out of the 2010 Christchurch earthquakes. Our team revitalised a small garden next to Avebury House and then found a number of enthusiastic volunteers, who secured 2 acres of Red Zoned Land in front of Avebury Park. They then set about creating woven garden beds, a food forest and many interesting educational areas.

Avon Otakaro Network have kindly provided 16 letterboxes salvaged from the Red Zone before their respective houses were demolished. The Richmond Community Garden wish to offer these letterboxes to the winning artist to produce a sculpture that will sit at the River Road entrance to our red-zoned, transitional garden site.

The sculpture is to be an ode to the former residents, situated in a peaceful place for remembrance, and also as a symbol that there is a bright future for the land revitalisation.

Terms & Conditions

Submission Dates

To enter please complete the application form of this document and submit it with your proposal, design and accompanying material, this must be in by 22nd March 2019.

Sculpture Eligible for Entry

• Entries are accepted from any resident New Zealand artists, community or school groups
• All 16 letterboxes or part thereof each one must be incorporated into the sculpture
• We encourage works that are sympathetic to the garden environment, sympathetic to the previous occupiers on the Red Zone, tell a story or hold a message about the recent history of the area.
• The installation will be at least 4 years, hence the sculpture needs to be robust to withstand various climatic conditions and public interaction, submissions that are considered to be unsafe or insufficiently robust will not be considered.

The Selection

• The Judges will select the winning sculpture based on the incorporation on all the letterboxes into the final work this may be in a single sculpture or multiple installations
• $3,500 will be provided for commissioning of the sculpture. Site preparation and installation costs will be provided
• Its suitability to withstand a long outdoor installation
• The artist’s ability to fulfil the brief
• The judges decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into it
• The winning sculpture will be publicly announced on the 1st of April 2019.

The Site

• The proposed sculpture site is the river road entrance to the Richmond Community Garden, or the berm leading to the entrance (see Map)
• Submitting artists are encouraged to visit the garden to view the proposed location of the sculpture
• Wherever possible the RCG will accommodate the artists preferred location, however the final site location will be at their discretion.

Installation and Unveiling

• The sculpture will be displayed in a public space 24/7. Installation requirements need to be detailed in your submission
• Assistance and resources will be provided with installation to ensure adherence with Health and Safety plans, security and robustness
• The Sculpture will need to be commissioned in time for our annual Gala event for Matariki 2019.