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Wanganui Peace Sculpture -
dedicated to a culture of peace and non-violence
for the children of the world

21st  September 2002

For the past 2 years this culture of peace project came to involve an increasing number of people all ­ each in their own way ­ contributing to the completion of the sculpture. Artists, architects, engineers and archeologists, builders, construction workers, plumbers, electricians, plasterers/grouters, park and recreation personnel and District Council officers, and all the thousands of children and grown-ups who participated in the hand castings (clay as well as glass) ­ all of them gave life and meaning to the concept for which it now stands proud, on the historic hill of Queens Park at the center of Wanganui city.

Space  will not allow me to describe in detail the amazing process of this project towards completion, stretching us all to the limit to have it ready for the dedication ceremony on the 21st September, the first, fixed, International Day of Peace. It was a real privilege that HE The Govenor-General, Dame Silvia Cartwright, had agreed to join us on this day and dedicate the Wanganui Peace Sculpture, "Handspan",designed by Ross Mitchell-Anyon, built by Jamie O’Leary with a team of skilled craftsmen supervised by Shayne Perry, to a culture of peace and non-violence for the children of the world. Upon a sign from the GG a team of 5 air force personnel from Ohakea lifted off the canopy covering the sculpture, freeing hundreds of balloons to the delight of the children.

After the unveiling Gita, on behalf of Operation Peace Through Unity, who had initiated the project and raised the funds for it,  formally handed it over to the people of the Wanganui community (through the Mayor). She prayed that it would symbolize "humanity’s continuous striving towards a culture that respects, celebrates and unites all cultures ­ a culture of the heart" ­ and that "one day we shall see the United Nations joined by an assembly of peoples and cultures ­ for peace."- Then we all walked the spirals of the sculpture. ­ Many of us returned later that night to see the lighting streaming through the 43 glass hands on the walls.

We are already planning various events with this sculpture as our focal point ­ the next involving children and their families.

A message of thanks

•••

Thank you so much, Your Excellency.
Your presence here with us today ­ and your dedication of this sculpture on this very special International Day of Peace -
means the world to us.

The past two years have been an arduous yet wondrous journey, learning how to give both form and substance to the vision of a culture of peace and non-violence for the children of the world.

From the turning of the soil, the building of the lifting spirals and the walls surrounding them, to the making of the thousands of hand casts in clay, and the some 50 in glass ­ it was the cooperation and the givingness from so many community members, businesses and foundations that made the completion of this sculpture possible - giving life and meaning to the concept for which it stands.

My heart is quite overcome with thankfulness to every single person who has been involved in this labour of love: in particular Ross, the inspired artist and designer:  Jamie the builder with his ever flowing generosity and optimism; Shayne,  our  serene building  supervisor, who was there from start to finish and who with quiet authority dealt with all obstacles on the way.

And the many talented and skillful crafts people who joined in the creation of the sculpture, like the UCOL Glass studio artists, who made all the glass hand tiles - and the three wonderful White brothers, and their friends, who transformed the walls with their expert plastering and grouting.

 And where would we all be without Rosemary Hovey who saw to it that every "i" was dotted and every "t" was crossed right throughout the entire building process.

 I also want to thank the people from the Park and Recreation department, who have been so busy beautifying the surroundings:

and a big thank you to Sergeant Phillip Chilton from the Royal NZ Air force base in Ohakea and his team for providing a perfect solution to the unveiling of the sculpture ­ balloons and all!

Our very special thank you to His Worship the Mayor and the District Council for giving this artwork - dedicated to peace - such a beautiful home, adjacent to the Sarjeant Gallery, where it all started and where its conclusion will also be celebrated.   With John Maihi’s blessings every step of the way the sculpture now stands in its rightful place, symbolizing humanity’s continuous striving towards a culture that respects, celebrates and unites all cultures ­ a culture of the heart. I pray that one day we shall see the United Nations joined by an assembly of peoples and cultures ­ for peace.

Would you join with me in a moment of silence, giving thanks and invoking the love and the guiding hand of the One in Whom we all live and move and have our being.


Thank You.  May good  prevail.
 
 

And now, Your Worship, it is my profound JOY, on behalf of Peace Through Unity, to confirm that this sculpture, called Handspan, dedicated by Her Excellency to a culture of peace and non-violence for the children of the world, truly belongs to all the people of the Wanganui community.


Wanganui Culture of Peace Sculpture – “Handspan”
“Handspan” is the name of a large sculpture created to symbolize a culture of peace in the New Zealand city of Wanganui. The international NGO Peace Through Unity, based in Wanganui, initiated and fundraised for this Culture of Peace project. The sculpture was designed by local artist and potter Ross Mitchell-Anyon and, on the 21st September 2002, dedicated by the Governor-General of New Zealand, the Honourable Dame Silvia Cartwright to “a culture of peace and non-violence for the children of the world”.
Preparing for and the building of this unique, interactive work of art, has taken almost exactly two years. The “Handspan” design was chosen from among other entries to a culture of peace sculpture design competition. This impressive structure is approximately 20m in diameter and 3 meters high and consists of a double-spiral pathway on which one can walk to the top. On each side of the pathway are walls covered with more than 4000 clay hand casts, made mostly from hands of community members of all ages, although some hand casts from outside Wanganui have also been included. Approximately 50 hand casts made in glass (by Wanganui UCOL glass studio), are also placed on the walls, through which a fibre-optic lighting system illumines the pathway of the sculpture at night.
Apart from the gathering, making and firing of the thousands of hand casts, which has involved the work of many volunteers, the construction of the sizeable structure itself has required the skills and expertise - and often the ingenuity – of many other crafts people. Engineers and architects, construction workers, electricians, plumbers and plasterers and others, under the supervision of master-builder Jamie O’Leary, all made invaluable contributions to the completion of the sculpture. Community involvement, cooperation and generosity are the qualities that have given life and meaning to this culture of peace work of art.
The sculpture stands on public land donated by the Regional District Council – on a hill at the heart of Wanganui, steeped in the history of the Maori and early Settlers.
On 20 December 2002, a coffee-table type of book, published by Peace Through Unity, was launched which describes the process of building the sculpture and tells about the people involved in the project.
It also mentions some of the visionaries who helped initiate the idea of a culture in which all cultures can stand united for peace, and prompted the UN General Assembly to pronounce 2001-2010 the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World. The book, called “Wanganui Culture of Peace – 2002”, begins with a statement by Peace through Unity saying: “Through this book we have sought to express our thankfulness to the One Life pulsating through all creation; each heartbeat offering new opportunities for learning and growing and loving together; the dream carried in the heart of humanity not even a breath away – its realization in our hands”.
It is now truly up to us, the world’s peoples, to resolve to work together for the emergence of an assembly of peoples and cultures – for peace.


Operation Peace Through Unity (OPTU), an NGO associated with United Nations NGO/DPI, was founded in Sweden 1975 as a Charitable Trust, since 1988 based in New Zealand.

Address: “Te Rangi”, 4 Allison St., Wanganui, 5001 New Zealand.
E-mail: optubrookiana@xtra.co.nz

websites: www.isleofavalon.co.uk/manytomany.html and www.angelfire.com/journal/brooke2000 .

OPTU’s quarterly publication “Many to Many”, can be read on the above websites. Hard copies will be sent on request.

A copy of the book “Wanganui Culture of Peace 2002” can be obtained from the above address. To recover printing cost and costs of posting and packaging a donation of US$30-35 would be appreciated.