Iconic sculpture rolls onto U of M campus
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/12/2023 (677 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Forever Bicycles has locked in a five-year parking spot outside the University of Manitoba’s new Desautels Concert Hall.
The silver, 3.7-metre-tall rectangular sculpture featuring 18 bikes was unveiled Dec. 8 on the school’s Fort Garry campus.
“I think it’s a good idea to have art that people can enjoy and appreciate and be stimulated by whether it’s in front of a concert hall, downtown or on Broadway,” said Michael Nesbitt, a retired Winnipeg businessman who has loaned the artwork to the U of M for public display.
RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
The “Forever Bicycles” sculpture now on display at The University of Manitoba’s Desautels Concert Hall which is attached to the Taché Arts Complex.
The original Forever Bicycles sculpture was displayed at The Forks in 2019. Designed by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, it is made up of 1,254 bikes and stands nine metres tall.
The sculpture left The Forks in spring 2023, after its loan period expired. It returned to Berlin to be remanufactured due to water damage, according to Nesbitt.
Nesbitt commission a smaller version of the original for his personal collection and offered to donate it when the construction began on the 400-seat concert hall. It is expected to open in fall 2024.
Inspired by the popular Chinese bicycle brand Forever, the sculpture is a commentary on how freedom can be achieved through movement, but at a cost.
On Monday, Nesbitt said Forever was one of only two bicycle brands that could be bought in China when the artist was a child. Weiwei saw how the bicycle gave an opportunity for people to escape communism, but only for those who could afford it.
The U of M alumni and a sponsor for the concert hall said it is important to have world-class art in and around the new south Winnipeg building.
Edward Jurkowski, dean of the Desautels Faculty of Music and director of the school of art, said the installation is a message about artistic freedom and expression. He hopes such displays challenge how people view art and provoke thoughtful conversations.
“I think it (Forever Bicycles) is connected with the idea of it being a space where artistic expression of all kinds can be presented in that concert hall,” Jurkowski said. “The idea of music and freedom, and bicycling and freedom, I think it’s meant to tie together.”
Jurkowski said he’s already heard positive comments from students in the short time since the sculpture was installed.
In addition to Forever Bicycles, Nesbitt also donated pieces from artists Sol LeWitt and Lawrence Weiner for display inside the finished concert hall.
matthew.frank@freepress.mb.ca