TAMWORTH’S councillors have deferred a decision on whether to spend about $40,000 to purchase a sculpture by renowned artist Stephen King.
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The 6m-high wooden sculpture, Stargazer III, has been on display in Tamworth gallery’s forecourt since May under a $2500 lease arrangement.
The deal is set to expire imminently and councillors must decide if they want to make the towering piece a permanent part of its collection.
Councillor Juanita Wilson said council “should be brave” and invest $37,500, excluding GST, in purchasing the Walcha-based artist’s sculpture.
“For me, it ticks all the boxes,” she said. “It’s local, it’s a noble and significant piece of artwork and the artist is well-known.”
However, Cr Mark Rodda said the council should get assurances about the lifespan of the piece before committing ratepayers’ money to the purchase.
“I’m wondering if we can seek some advice about the timber’s longevity, given that it is exposed to the elements,” he said.
“We have a very harsh climate. Will the sculpture be value for money if it only lasts 10 years or something like that?”
Last August, councillors resolved to lease the sculpture until a review of its public art policy was finished; however, that remains some months away.
Deputy mayor Russell Webb said he was not comfortable making a final decision until that policy had been adopted.
“I do believe we could be criticised as a council for purchasing public art without having a policy in place,” he said.
Earlier at last Tuesday’s meeting, Meg Larkin, from the Friends of the Tamworth Regional Gallery group, spoke strongly in favour of the purchase.
“Council has a collection development policy for our gallery, which stresses the importance of building on our collection of regional artists,” she said.
“I understand there are some 57 regional artists represented in our collection already but that Stephen King’s work is not there yet.”
Councillors voted to defer a decision until the public art policy review was complete, and resolved to negotiate extending the piece’s lease.