A bust of James K Baxter is on display at Paige's Book Gallery. Photo / Bevan Conley
A bust of James K Baxter is on display at Paige's Book Gallery. Photo / Bevan Conley
Fundraising for a life-size bronze statue of poet James K Baxter has reached the halfway mark and the fundraising group hopes to achieve its target this year.
The Guyton Group, chaired by Lesley Stead, has raised $48,000 for the statue, which will be created by Baxter's friend, sculptor Joan Morrell,and situated in Guyton St.
"We're really rapt with being halfway," Stead said.
"Even the installation will be a very costly exercise because it has to be embedded quite deeply in the pavement."
The Guyton Group, which is now a fully registered trust with the Charities Commission, held its inaugural annual meeting on Monday, April 30. Stead said people at the meeting supported the group's proposals to beautify Guyton St and discussed fundraising plans for the year.
"We would be thrilled if we could reach our goal before the end of this year," Stead said.
"We've been donated a bust of James K Baxter and if there was a corporate organisation or philanthropist that may want to give very generously to us, it could be regarded as a purchase of the bust. Baxter sat for Joan Morrell for this to be created and it's a copy of the original.
"We love our sports statues in Whanganui and around the country but we feel there hasn't been such a recognition for the arts. We have matured as a country and it's good that acknowledgement of the arts is starting to happen. Baxter is read worldwide and in top universities like Cambridge."
The Baxter bust is on display at Paige's Book Gallery.
There are plans to create a poetry trail once the Baxter statue is in place. Stead said it would fit in with the Whanganui District Council's town centre regeneration project.
