John Minto and Valerie Morse to front fundraising art auction to support Urewera 18 and mark 30th Anniversary of 1981 Springbok tour

John Minto, key organiser in the 1981 Springbok tour protests, will fly to Wellington this afternoon to front an art auction with ‘terror raid’ arrestee Valerie Morse to raise funds in support of the Urewera 18 and mark the Anniversary of the anti-apartheid protests 30 years ago.

The final day of the Concerned Citizens exhibition will close with an “all out bidding war” according to Ben Knight, contributing artist and co-organiser of the event.

“Bidders in Wellington will be competing with art buyers all over the world who are interested in human rights, placing their bids via the Concerned Citizens website (www.concernedcitizens.co.nz).

Valerie Morse, whom the police tried to charge with terrorism in the Urewera 18 raids in 2007, will provide a visual representation of the total funds raised in the auction, moving a soft-toy bus toward the fundraising target – a George W Bush impersonator at the top of a ladder.

“The irony of an alleged terrorist that supposedly plotted to assassinate former president Bush by catapulting a bus onto his head three and a half years ago, moving a bus towards a presidential look-a-like as the fundraising target should make for a pretty hilarious visual image” says Morse.

“Having John Minto here should really highlight the contrast between the way that New Zealanders proudly remember the Springbok anti-apartheid protests and the way that peace and civil rights activists arrested all over the country have been treated as “terrorists” since the raids in 2007” says Ben Knight.

Among the auctioned items will be an original 1983 poster from Patu!, the landmark documentary about the Springbok tour, donated by Errol Wright (co-director of Operation 8: Deep in the Forest), and a catapult built by the Concerned Citizens artist collective to test the feasibility of the alleged assassination plot, which launched a ‘bus’ at a George W Bush impersonator on the Beehive lawn last Friday.

The bidding will close at 8pm sharp (online and on site), followed by a screening of

A number of prominent figures have also spoken out against the handling of the case, including civil rights lawyer Moana Jackson and Professor Jane Kelsey.

The Concerned Citizens exhibition involves more than 60 artists and musicians, featuring work from up and coming as well as more established artists, including Peter Madden, Jarad Bryant, Roger Morris, Richard Meros, Bryce Galloway, Arlo Edwards, Kerry Ann Lee, and Tao Wells, creator of the controversial Beneficiary’s Office installation in 2010. Exhibited works range from paintings, sculptures, photography, and animation.

A video of the catapult in action can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95xOv31DXM0

Coverage from Friday’s parliament catapult launch can be seen at:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5097471/Protest-highlights-terror-raid-case/
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10730004

More images can be provided on request.

List of participating artists and musicians:

Tao Wells

Jarad Bryant

Roger Morris

Peter Madden

Kerry Ann Lee

Richard Meros

Dick Whyte

Bryce Galloway

Robyn Kenealy

Campbell Kneale

Ellen Rodda

Jeff Henderson

Pareraukawa Kura

Ryan Bennett

Hannah Salmon

Arlo Edwards

T.R.A.P.

Sam Ovens

Kim Gruschow

Richard Dennis Bartlett

David Alphabethead

Zachary Jordan Penney

Blake Dunlop

Carlos Augusto Patino Rojas

Jacob Carlson Sparrow

The Screamer

Turumeke Effie Harrington

Brendan Olphert

Fredd Marshall

Lance Ravenswood

Benjamin Michael Knight

Hywel Thomas

Danny Dowling-Mitchell

Regan P Bailey

Rhydian Thomas

Ana McGowan

Georgie Brown

Rhiannon Beckett

Gene Van Der Zanden

Kelly Spencer

Ash Jones

Andy Macready

Tali Williams

Jon Coddington

Esther Lewis

Adam McCauley

Alex Meagher

Chloe-Rose Purcell

Aidan Griffin

Louis Klein

Hayden Currie

Alex Mitcalfe-Wilson

Zaou Vaughan

Sebi Ruters

Duncan McNoughton

Lance Cash

Matt Whitluxus

Mercedes Webb-Pullman

Seth Frightening

Joe Blossom
Keil

Albert Williams

Harriet Ferry

Daniel Beban

Rhys McNaughton

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