Recently I have collaborated with fellow Melbourne creative Alex Wadelton to generate interest in making a statue of Indigenous AFL footballer Nicky Winmar and his iconic stand against racism.
Photographer Wayne Ludbey snapped the image in 1993.
On April 22, 1993, St. Kilda footballer Nicky Winmar stood up defiantly against racist abuse hurled at him from across the boundary. After winning the game, he turned to the crowd, pulled his jumper up to point at the colour of his skin, and yelled back, 'I’m black and I’m proud.'
His defiant stance is considered a pivotal point, not just in Australian football, but in race relations in this country and we feel it should be cast in bronze.
After making contact with Winmar and sculpture artist Louis Laumen, we started the campaign off with a crowdfunding drive to raise the $187,500 needed to make the statue.
The Pozible page had $14,187 pledged towards the goal, far less than the cash needed to make something like the ones around the MCG currently.
Luckily, the crowdfunding drive generated enough attention of an entity that are interested in exploring the project further and get it done. Stay tuned.