Sendai’s Light to Shine on Christchurch in November

Sendai’s Light to Shine on Christchurch in November

A unique and symbolic streetlamp from Sendai, Japan will be installed and unveiled on 9 November 2014 as a part of Mischa Kuball’s Solidarity Grid in Christchurch. Solidarity Grid is a legacy art project commissioned by the Christchurch City Council’s Public Art Advisory Group and produced by SCAPE Public Art over a period of three years, which began during the SCAPE 7 Public Art Christchurch Biennial in 2013.

Mischa Kuball’s Solidarity Grid is based on the act of giving and the positive symbolism of light. The project will bring a single streetlamp from each of 21 cities around the world to Christchurch by the end of 2015. To date, 5 streetlamps from Düsseldorf Germany; Sydney, Australia; Belgrade, Serbia; Adelaide, Australia and Kurashiki, Japan have been installed along a section of Park Terrace in Christchurch, with Sendai’s light to become one of the next group of streetlamps to be installed. The project will provide light to pedestrians and cyclists while adding a significant public art legacy to the central city. There are also a number of streetlamps from other participating cities that have been confirmed and will be installed as part of this second group by the end of the year.

The City of Sendai is located approximately 300km north of Tokyo and is the centre of economy, industry and culture for the Tohoku region in Japan. The city is often called the “City of Trees” due to its beautiful natural environment and the Zelkova trees that line its streets.

On 11 March 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and a giant tsunami struck the Tohoku region, tragically taking over 15,000 lives, with thousands of people losing their homes in Sendai alone. In light of this, the Sendai streetlamp is not only a gesture of solidarity for Christchurch but also one of understanding and compassion in a time after a horrific natural disaster. Sendai is moving forward with their reconstruction with support from all over the world and wants to share their experience and lessons learnt from the disaster while contributing to the development of disaster reduction worldwide.

A delegation from the City of Sendai will visit Christchurch from 8 to 11 November 2014 to attend meetings with city leaders and businesses as well as for the unveiling of their gifted streetlamp. The delegation will be led by the Vice-mayor of Sendai, Mr. Akira Fujimoto, officials and prominent members of the Sendai Station Square Mall Promotion Association.

The Mayor of Sendai, Emiko Okuyama, said: “The city of Christchurch sustained great damage from a large scale earthquake just a month before we were hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake. We are very grateful to have received an invitation to participate in the Solidarity Grid project from the people of Christchurch, our friends, as we move forward together, towards our respective recovery. I sincerely hope that Sendai’s streetlamp that will help light the downtown of Christchurch, will be passed down to future generations for many years to come, as a symbol of the bond between our cities, progressing together towards recovery.”

The Mayor of Christchurch, Lianne Dalziel, is pleased to be attending the unveiling ceremony in November and believes that Sendai’s gift sends an important message for Christchurch. “I am impressed that Sendai is so committed to this installation, given everything they’ve been through following the earthquake and tsunami that struck the Tohoku region less than two weeks after our February 2011 earthquake. This makes the contribution from Sendai even more meaningful. Our shared experience has brought our two cities together. SCAPE Public Art’s Solidarity Grid project is the perfect representation of that. Solidarity expresses how we feel towards each other, having both experienced disasters with such tragic consequences. But it also signifies that both Sendai and Christchurch will recover even stronger than before.” Mayor Lianne Dalziel concludes “I would like to thank the Mayor and the people of Sendai for their very generous gift of light and we look forward to welcoming their delegation here in November.”

Sendai’s streetlamp is not just a regular Japanese streetlamp; it features a bronze cast statue of the founder of Sendai, Date Masamune, who founded the city in 1600. Date Masamune was an extraordinary tactician and only had one eye, meaning he was often referred to as “the one-eyed dragon”. The statue is placed eloquently between two lights atop the historic streetlamp and displays Masamune riding a horse and prepared for battle.

Solidarity Grid’s artist Mischa Kuball will also be attending the special unveiling in November. He said “It will be a wonderful and moving time to see the project’s progress alongside the enormous city rebuilding process, as the street lamps from various countries light up the pathway by Hagley Park. Now it’s time to meet the people behind the city of Sendai’s generosity and to celebrate this special connection between Christchurch and Sendai City – a warm welcome and deepest ‘Domo Arigato’ to all who make this occasion possible.”

ENDS

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