SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD
First statue for sesquicentennial project
unveiled at Kitchener Rangers game
First statue for sesquicentennial project
unveiled at Kitchener Rangers game
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by Helen Hall
Kitchener Citizen
January 15, 2015
Moments after Sir John A. Macdonald was rolled into the lobby of the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium, people began to take the seats he was offering.
The bronze statue of Canada’s first prime minister was unveiled on the ice before the January 9 Rangers game against the Belleville Bulls. January 11, 2015 was Macdonald’s 200th birthday, and all Ontario Hockey League teams commemorated the occasion with a Macdonald patch on their uniforms.
The statue is the first of 22 bronze likenesses of Canadian prime ministers that are being created for the Statue Project - a local public art project for the Sesquicentennial in 2017, Canada’s 150th birthday.
The cast bronze statue was created by Wellesley artist Ruth Abernethy, and is called “A Canadian Conversation.” It shows Macdonald on a break between the many meetings for Confederation. He is flanked by two 19th century chairs, where people are encourage to sit down and join him in conversation.
Former Kitchener Collegiate Institute principal Jim Rodger and Sandvine CEO Dave Caputo have been working on the Statue Project for over a year, and were excited to have the first statue unveiled at the Rangers game in front of a large crowd.
“We want to show the public a concrete example of what our prime minister statues will look like,” Rodger said in an interview.
After Macdonald was unveiled on the ice, he was moved to the lobby in the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium for the remainder of the month. People will have the opportunity to sit with Macdonald - and perhaps take a selfie. Several Twitter hashtags are popping up to help celebrate Macdonald’s birthday, including #sirjohna200 and #sirjohnabday.
Rodger said the two chairs in the sculpture have 30 different symbols or icons on them, that tie into a curriculum that will accompany the Statue Project. Some of the symbols are about Macdonald’s personal life, and others are about his accomplishments as prime minister, including Confederation and the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
“The chairs just invite you to sit down with him,” Rodger said.
In February the sculpture will be moved to THEMUSEUM in downtown Kitchener. Rodger said THEMUSEUM will host an exhibition for Macdonald’s birthday, and the statue will be “a nice centrepiece for that.”
By Canada Day 2015, Rodger hopes Macdonald will be outside in his “permanent home” in Waterloo Region, and will be waiting for the sculptures of other Canadian prime ministers to join him. This location has yet to be announced. In an interview in June, Rodger said his group has three locations in Kitchener and Waterloo that want to be home to the Statue Project, and they are still working on the details.
The Statue Project was first introduced to Kitchener Council in December 2013. Caputo and Rodger wanted to place the statues in Victoria Park in Kitchener. At the time, they had raised $1-million of the $2.2-million cost of the public art project. That number is now up to $1.7-million.
Rather than following its regular procedure for such a request, Kitchener Council decided to put out an online survey to get feedback.
Results of the survey were overwhelmingly negative, with 79 percent of respondents saying they didn’t want the statues in the park. About 2,441 people completed the survey, which is just over 1 percent of Kitchener’s population.
Council voted against placing the statues at Victoria Park, or on any city-owned property in Kitchener.
Since that time, a new council has been elected. When asked if the Statue Project group might go back to Kitchener City Council, Rodger said no.
“Their motion was pretty clear,” Rodger said. “We’ve moved on.”
Kitchener Citizen
January 15, 2015
Moments after Sir John A. Macdonald was rolled into the lobby of the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium, people began to take the seats he was offering.
The bronze statue of Canada’s first prime minister was unveiled on the ice before the January 9 Rangers game against the Belleville Bulls. January 11, 2015 was Macdonald’s 200th birthday, and all Ontario Hockey League teams commemorated the occasion with a Macdonald patch on their uniforms.
The statue is the first of 22 bronze likenesses of Canadian prime ministers that are being created for the Statue Project - a local public art project for the Sesquicentennial in 2017, Canada’s 150th birthday.
The cast bronze statue was created by Wellesley artist Ruth Abernethy, and is called “A Canadian Conversation.” It shows Macdonald on a break between the many meetings for Confederation. He is flanked by two 19th century chairs, where people are encourage to sit down and join him in conversation.
Former Kitchener Collegiate Institute principal Jim Rodger and Sandvine CEO Dave Caputo have been working on the Statue Project for over a year, and were excited to have the first statue unveiled at the Rangers game in front of a large crowd.
“We want to show the public a concrete example of what our prime minister statues will look like,” Rodger said in an interview.
After Macdonald was unveiled on the ice, he was moved to the lobby in the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium for the remainder of the month. People will have the opportunity to sit with Macdonald - and perhaps take a selfie. Several Twitter hashtags are popping up to help celebrate Macdonald’s birthday, including #sirjohna200 and #sirjohnabday.
Rodger said the two chairs in the sculpture have 30 different symbols or icons on them, that tie into a curriculum that will accompany the Statue Project. Some of the symbols are about Macdonald’s personal life, and others are about his accomplishments as prime minister, including Confederation and the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
“The chairs just invite you to sit down with him,” Rodger said.
In February the sculpture will be moved to THEMUSEUM in downtown Kitchener. Rodger said THEMUSEUM will host an exhibition for Macdonald’s birthday, and the statue will be “a nice centrepiece for that.”
By Canada Day 2015, Rodger hopes Macdonald will be outside in his “permanent home” in Waterloo Region, and will be waiting for the sculptures of other Canadian prime ministers to join him. This location has yet to be announced. In an interview in June, Rodger said his group has three locations in Kitchener and Waterloo that want to be home to the Statue Project, and they are still working on the details.
The Statue Project was first introduced to Kitchener Council in December 2013. Caputo and Rodger wanted to place the statues in Victoria Park in Kitchener. At the time, they had raised $1-million of the $2.2-million cost of the public art project. That number is now up to $1.7-million.
Rather than following its regular procedure for such a request, Kitchener Council decided to put out an online survey to get feedback.
Results of the survey were overwhelmingly negative, with 79 percent of respondents saying they didn’t want the statues in the park. About 2,441 people completed the survey, which is just over 1 percent of Kitchener’s population.
Council voted against placing the statues at Victoria Park, or on any city-owned property in Kitchener.
Since that time, a new council has been elected. When asked if the Statue Project group might go back to Kitchener City Council, Rodger said no.
“Their motion was pretty clear,” Rodger said. “We’ve moved on.”
Wellesley artist Ruth Abernethy sits with her sculpture of Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister. The statue was unveiled at the January 9 Kitchener Rangers game, a few days before his 200th birthday. Players on the Ontario Hockey League teams were also wearing a Sir John A. Macdonald patch on their uniforms to commemorate the occasion. Photos by Helen Hall
A Rangers fan holds up her Canada mitts while sitting with the Sir John A Macdonald statue that is at the Aud until the end of January.
