A visually and emotionally engaging, contemporary art and architecture experience that would commemorate, captivate and enable participation across the country and abroad. A New York-based New Zealand artist, who as a boy attended St David’s church, would gift thousands of pure brass silkscreened artworks, each taking the shape of his signature quatrefoil form. An installation of more than 6,000 of the artworks in seven designs would adorn the façade of the church to create a glimmering message of peace and remembrance. People could then purchase the pieces to Remember Them – and to raise funds for preservation of the church. The quatrefoil is an ancient Christian cross, a flower of the Pacific, a lotus symbol of peace and new life, and also an Anzac poppy. Each artwork is the size of a soldier’s hand outstretched, and represents a soldier or nurse who served in WWI.

On 24 March 2015, an acclaimed artist created multiple hand painted ink works rendered with Japanese Sumi ink on Arches cold press watercolour paper. The artist selected seven designs from these works to be hand-printed onto brass quatrefoils. Hundreds of volunteers, businesses and institutions worked on the project, which included choreography, design, assembly, mounting of the large-scale artwork on St David’s church at short notice; a critical outreach campaign and sales platform www.RememberThem.nz; packaging and distribution systems. Tens of thousands of hours of voluntary labour and services. The three-month long public exhibition was unveiled on ANZAC Day eve, April 24 2015, and was covered by major media across the country. It was officially closed in an historic event by New Zealand’s most highly decorated soldier. Hundreds attended both ceremonies. The installation drove the ongoing Remember Them project, attracting funds to restore the church through sales and donations.

Including sales of quatrefoils and donations, the project will shortly have raised the NZ$1 million campaign target, transforming the position of the Trust and the Soldiers’ Memorial Church. This is probably the highest earning art-based fundraising project in New Zealand history. The fund start point was NZ$200 (14 months ago) and borrowing of NZ$150, 000 (12 months ago). With zero marketing or PR spend, the Trust has reached 89.5% of New Zealand’s population. Outreach, all volunteered, has included national TV news, newspapers, magazines, digital ad placements, billboards, bus backs, and direct mail drops. More than 100,000 have visited www.RememberThem.nz and 12,000+ Remembrance artworks have been sold across New Zealand and the world. The project attracted strategic political and institutional support from New Zealand Central and Local Government and major private and public institutions. The Church has been remembered and written back into history.