Melbourne creatives Aaron Tyler + Alex Wadelton launch campaign to make Nicky Winmar statue
Art director Aaron Tyler and Zoo Group creative director Alex Wadelton have collaborated and launched a crowd funding campaign to get a bronzed statue of the iconic moment Indigenous St Kilda footballer Nicky Winmar stood up to racism.
On April 22, 1993, Winmar, responding to racist taunts hurled across the boundary line at him, lifted his jumper up, pointed to the colour of his skin, and yelled out “I’m black and I’m proud.” The image, captured by Melbourne photographer Wayne Ludbey, is seen as a turning point, in not just football history, but Australian history in the treatment of Indigenous Australians.
The campaign, now live at https://pozible.com/project/nicky-winmar-statue, has already been covered by Fox Sports and SBS, and with a planned push by the St Kilda Football Club to make it a reality, the call is now going out to Australia to get behind this important monument.
With AFL Indigenous Round in full swing, and National Reconciliation week starting next week, corporate Australia can email Alex and Aaron at nickywinmarstatue@gmail.com with their interest to ensure their brand shows that they too believe in respect and equality for all.
Fair minded Australians can also support the campaign with a pledge and leaving a personal message of support for Nicky on the Pozible page. There are also incentives such as an official certificate, Wayne Ludbey signed photographs of the original image, and the opportunity to stand with Nicky forever by having your name engraved on the plinth that will stand below the sculpture.
(Picture 3: L-R: Gerard Whateley, Alex Wadelton, Aaron Tyler, Mark Robinson, and Nicky WInmar on the set of AFL360 where the campaign was launched)
9 Comments
Nice idea, but the AFL with the most racist sport fans in the world would almost wear this as a badge of honor.
Great idea and initiative guys.
You shouldn’t have to crowd fund it with all the cash floating around the game in media, the clubs and through the AFL itself though, so lets hope it is only a matter of days before someone does the right thing and signs a cheque to get Nicky up there.
Great Idea! Does Alex like AFL? Thought he was a league man
@Ex-afl fan, if you watched the Dreamtime at the G game, and saw the more than 85,000 in attendance who have made this game a massive spectacle every year, you’d realise that giant strides have been made.
@Just Do It, already things are starting to get moving the way you are hoping.
Please all, do support this campaign. It’s a reminder for us all to have respect for one another.
Thanks.
@alex – not really, there is literally a crowd racism incident every week.
@Not sure Cool story. Probably should do nothing then. Cultural change usually happens when people do nothing. Pull your head in. Great work, Alex.
I met Nicky a month back at the Indigenous festival near Uluru. A decent, modest guy.
He totally deserves a monument like this, a moment of proud defiance against unjustifiable behaviour. Something that all young Indigenous footballers can use to inspire them when some try to cut them down.
Wouldn’t it be easier to petition the AFL or the MCG to make it on their own coin?
I like it. He already has pride of place in the Melbourne museum however.