Naming sponsor sought for Whale Song sculpture project
- Marco Zeeman
- Apr 21
- 1 min read
Aotearoa is poised to make waves on the global stage with a project unlike any other – and one sponsor now has the chance to be etched into its cultural, environmental and creative legacy.
Whale Song will be New Zealand’s largest public sculpture. It has been designed for the region north of Wellington by Ōtaki cinematographer-turned-artist Mike Fuller. Plans for its creation have been brewing since more than a decade ago, when it was first touted for Paekākāriki’s Queen Elizabeth Park.
Since then, the project has expanded with support from local iwi and the district council, to be part of a wider redevelopment of the area around Wharemaku Stream in Paraparaumu. A community park with a wharenui (meeting house), a forest nursery, and children’s playground will all feature in the redeveloped area.
But the site’s centrepiece will be Whale Song, taking up 4000sqm and comprising a pod of seven life-sized sculptures of humpback whales cast in bronze.
They will range from eight to 24 metres in length and be supported on structural poles – a nod to the Kāpiti region’s history with whaling, and the species’ importance in te ao Māori.
Now, the project is seeking a partner to step forward and claim the naming rights for $10 million. Marco Zeeman, a spokesperson for the project, said it was an opportunity to align with a truly transformative, future-facing, unprecedented and unforgettable artwork.
Whale Song is expected to attract over 500,000 visitors annually.
– To express interest in naming rights or learn more about Whale Song, visit whalesong.kiwi
