Wellington’s Soft as Stone Sculpture Symposium set to transform the Waterfront - Feb. 2005.

A highlight to Wellington’s summer cultural calendar for 2005, the Soft as Stone Sculpture Symposium is set to attract a wide cross-section of people to the city. A nine day live showcase of local, national and international stone sculptors is happening from February 12th until 20th everyday until 8.30 pm at Ilott Green, off Civic Square. Watch fabulous creations appear from blocks of raw stone.

Both local people and visitors to the city will enjoy this showcase of national and international artists. Lunch-time walkers will witness the unfolding of sculptures over the nine days. Wellington is known for having a big sculpture event in the summer on the waterfront and this enhances the city’s reputation for supporting the Arts and holding interesting events in the central city. The recent decision to suspend the Tareitanga sculpture symposium will leave a gap in the Wellington City cultural calendar so the Trust aims to ensure the continuation of a similar event in 2005.

Organiser, and Sculptor Aaron Frater says “Many people visited Tarietanga during the years it was held. Soft as Stone will capitalize on the Wellingtonian feeling that it is ‘nearly stone symposium time again’. We will add to this by bringing the symposium a step closer to Civic Square, the hub of Wellington’s cultural, artistic and administrative area.”

Soft as Stone “will give the art buying public of Wellington the opportunity to interact with, and purchase pieces from local and international artists. The symposium is also a good vehicle for artistic exchange and growth for the artists. It is an event that has appeal to many different people, and that promotes a very New Zealand art form – Oamaru stone carving.”.

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