Central to the project is the sculpture 1001 Spheres in Monte Cecilia Park, Hillsborough. Activating the artwork and the physical space around it, is a durational project, designed to bring diverse audiences into conversation with the sculpture and each other on the theme of gender equality.  

The backstory to the project is a call for proposals from the Public Art Team at Auckland Council, to mark 125 Suffrage Whakatū Wāhine - the 125 year anniversary of women’s suffrage in Aotearoa New Zealand, the first country in the world where women won the right to vote. Working in collaboration, we proposed to approach the theme as a journey towards gender equality in Aotearoa, a celebration of past-present-future. 

From the beginning, we saw the potential for the project to proactively engage with the public. Gender equality is a critically important social theme and this called for an artistic response with a social component. We wanted to design a way to actively engage people in thinking, talking and exchanging ideas about the evolving concept of gender. The sculpture is a positive projection of vibrancy and joy and we wanted this strong sense of empowerment to infuse the connections and conversations.

The location for the sculpture was specifically chosen because it offers a natural gathering space. Surrounding 1001 Spheres is a large grassed area encircled by mature trees, providing a peaceful and inspiring environment. Then, to initiate the participatory aspect of the project, individuals and organisations active in the gender equity space were invited to collaborate by contributing a statement, hope or vision for the future of gender equality.

In total, 23 individuals and organisations, representing a diversity of ideas and approaches, contributed written words to the project. Their words are hopes, visions, poems, demands, manifestos, calls to action. They are the voices of women, wāhine, intersex, transgender, non-binary, takatāpui, Māori, Pasifika, youth and access community. Collectively they paint a picture of the diversity needed to achieve a truly gender equal society.  

These written-word contributions are concealed invisibly within the sculpture. Each text is beautifully designed by typographer Catherine Griffiths and individually printed on vibrant anodized aluminium discs. During the final stage of fabrication, the 23 discs were placed in a round stainless steel container and secured inside 1001 Spheres, empowering the sculpture with human spirit and intent.  

The words of the 23 contributors provide a catalyst for the curated conversations and other participatory activities that will take place at the site of the sculpture as part of the durational project. 

You can read the discs and more about the contributors in the 23 Voices section.