Whale Song will become a significant Kāpiti landmark

Artistic impression of Whale Song. Graphic / Tilt Architecture and Ra Vincent

Whale Song Pakake Waiata Charitable Trust chairman Marco Zeeman outlines the benefits of the Whale Song project to Kāpiti.

Cost versus long-term benefits:

Monuments and other pieces of public art are too often considered just in terms of their cost rather than the benefits they can provide. Public and private organisations of all types have space that could be utilised for sculptures and landmarks, but how should the potential benefits of installing something in these spaces be weighed against their actual costs?

The best way to consider such opportunities is to explore exactly what these benefits can look like when they’re actively considered.

Some have used large sculptural installations to create a direct source of revenue (eg Gibbs Farm and the Sculpture Park at Waitakaruru Arboretum in the Waikato), while others are more focused on how landmarks can celebrate the history of an area (eg the South Island’s Mackenzie Sheep Dog Statue, Taihape’s gumboot and Paeroa’s large L&P bottle).

Other attractions are designed to serve as a hub of community activity or provide a characteristic landmark that attracts visitors from our national highways and into surrounding districts, with benefits across other tourism attractions, food and beverage and retail sectors nearby. The flow on to supporting businesses to these sectors quickly follows.

These kinds of benefits will last long after the costs associated with the creation of Whale Song have been paid in full.

Whale Song will enable these sorts of benefits for Kāpiti and the region and will act as a significant attractant to national and international tourists, many that are hi-value (longer stays and spend more).

The connection Whale Song will represent to the past, present and future of Kāpiti and what will become a significant Wellington icon, it will generate immense value for tourism, sense of place, wellbeing, national identity and community connection that is far more significant and longer-lasting than its actual cost.

A selfie magnet:

Millennials (ages 18 to 33), who have grown up with the new digital technologies of the 21st century, are the heaviest users of the internet, cellphones and social media sites.

Recent research by the Pew Research Centre in the US has found that 55 per cent of millennials have posted a “selfie” on to social media sites; no other generation is nearly as inclined to do this. Overall, it is believed somewhere in the vicinity of 25 per cent of tourists globally have shared a “selfie” on a photo-sharing or social networking site.

The effect of this “silent marketing” of iconic sculptures, other art forms and attractions on regional and national tourism growth should not be understated.

Marco Zeeman with a Whale Song scale model. Photo / David Haxton

The iconic nature of most monuments and sculptures is typically to create something that will become an icon for the region and this is a key aspect of why Whale Song fits this definition well.

By utilising the connection to Kāpiti’s culture and history as well as its connection to whales that frequent the coast, artist Mike Fuller‘s vison is to create something that will most certainly resonate with a very broad audience once Whale Song is completed.

It is expected that countless people will take a “selfie” with Whale Song. The sculpture will become a whimsical, relatable and eye-catching “selfie” magnet and likely become one of the biggest silent marketing generators in New Zealand.

The Whale Song sculpture will become a significant landmark for Kāpiti and the Wellington region, capturing the attention of the local communities and visitors alike.

The impact of having a “selfie magnet” is difficult to calculate, but it’s clear Whale Song, free to visit, will allow audiences of all types to interact with one another, the whales and the proposed surrounding park in a way they wouldn’t otherwise.

Whether they’re old or young, long-time residents and those new to the community, they will all enjoy Whale Song and will be able to clearly see the resulting benefits to the wider Wellington community. There will be multiple ways that this connection will have an impact across the region.

An identifier of and for Kāpiti and Wellington:

The connection that Whale Song has to the whales that frequent the coast is easy enough for anyone to see, but people that are new to the area won’t typically make this connection, let alone the cultural and historical connections of whales. This makes Whale Song unique.

This visual impact of the sculpture will allow it to immediately become a significant landmark for Kāpiti, which can be reproduced for use on the region’s websites, global and national tourism advertising, social media and publications to promote the region and its other attractions. Being seen and utilised in that manner will positively impact the hearts and minds of countless people across the country.

Public art adds enormous value to the cultural, aesthetic and economic vitality of a community. It is now a well-accepted principle of urban design that public art contributes to a community’s identity, fosters community pride and a sense of belonging, and enhances the quality of life for its residents and visitors.

Studies show that public art has a host of benefits for communities. Its community-building powers can combat feelings of anxiety, social isolation and community disconnection.

One of the most meaningful effects of large-scale public art is that it creates “community fingerprints” — spaces that make people feel represented, foster community ties, and give people a sense of ownership and belonging in their neighbourhoods.

Impacting people across all ages and ethnicities:

Whale Song will become an important part of New Zealand’s art collection with its visual scale making it a unique piece of art in global terms.

The presence of the Whale Song sculpture will provide Kāpiti as well as the wider region with a very powerful identifier.

Whale Song will be visible from the nearby expressway, local retail and commercial precincts and will draw large numbers of people, both children and adults alike, to visit and have a full view of this huge installation of a family pod of seven humpback whales. It will allow all ages to reflect on the piece and the cultural, historical and environmental connections it represents.

With the whale sculpture being 24m tall at its apex, along with these full-size seven whales covering an acre site, Whale Song will be impossible to ignore, becoming New Zealand’s largest sculptural installation.

Cast in bronze, this huge sculpture is built to stand the test of time with bronzes known to last thousands of years, allowing it to positively impact audiences and create tangible value for the community and New Zealand, in the present and long into the future.