Progress Pillar - Hamilton Public Art

The Progress Pillar was commissioned as part of the Boon Sculpture Trail 2024 and is currently on display in Garden Place, Kirikiriroa Hamilton. Boon Trust aims to raise the funds to purchase the artwork and gift it to the city - permanently increasing the number of LGBTQI artworks on display in the city.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

The Progress Pillar celebrates LGBTQI history from Aotearoa and beyond. Its twelve surfaces showcase abstract vignettes in colours from the Progress Pride Flag, each inspired by significant queer figures or stories from Aotearoa and beyond. These compositions create a totemic quilt, uniting the histories of our rainbow community into a cohesive narrative, celebrating their rightful place in our city. It is a bright, bold statement to inclusivity and history right in the heart of the Kirikiriroa Hamilton CBD.

THE TARGET

We are hoping to raise $10,000 to cover the cost of purchasing the artwork ($7,000), as well as the additional costs of installing it permanently ($3,000):

• Raising it on a concrete platform to reduce how dirty it gets in the rain
• Installing a plaque to acknowledge the artist and with a link to a longer description of the work

As Kirikiriroa Hamilton is currently celebrating Pride Month in April, we thought it a timely purchase.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

"Moving to Hamilton for studies in 2000, I grappled with my identity in a city (at that time) that lacked positive LGBTQI representation. Transferring to Wellington the next year provided a more accepting environment. My journey continued to Melbourne and New York City, where I embraced the significance of the gay liberation movement such as The Stonewall Inn, finding my own queer community and attending the city's giant pride march.

It was also while living in New York, I vividly remember watching with pride the footage from NZ Parliament following the 2013 marriage reform and the following rendition of Pokarekare ana. It also made me think of how unique and lucky we were to have the world’s first openly transgender Mayor and then member of Parliament, Georgina Beyer (and that was in the 90s!).  

So in the context of presenting a public sculpture in Kirikiriroa, I thought it would be great to reclaim those anxious former years and create a positive and joyous beacon of LGBTQI pride."

Paul Darragh lives and works as an artist and designer in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand. His painting practice traverses both traditional canvases and large-scale outdoor paintings in public spaces.

ABOUT BOON

Since 2015, Boon has been bringing artists out to play to create dynamic, interesting, art-filled spaces all around Kirikiriroa Hamilton. The team behind Boon have run 8 annual street art festivals - helping to fill the city with murals from Hamilton East across to Dinsdale, four iterations of Boon After Dark (nighttime art installations), as well as most recently, the Boon Sculpture Trail.

Boon Sculpture Trail brought together twenty-six artists from across Aotearoa, to create and install twenty-three temporary outdoor sculptures in Kirikiriroa Hamilton. This sculpture extravaganza took over Kirikiriroa Hamilton from Saturday 3 February and Sunday 31 March 2024. 

All donations to Boosted qualify for a 33% tax credit. Boosted will email a tax receipt when the project is successful." (taken from Boosted's FAQ section)

Thank you for your support.