Help Purchase “Dove Spirit” for the Doukhobor Discovery Centre
By Contributor
The magnificent bronze Dove Spirit, by renowned artist David Turner, is looking to make a permanent move to a new home at the Doukhobor Discovery Centre, and we need your help to make this happen! Castlegar Sculpturewalk is spearheading a community fund-raising campaign to purchase the piece from the artist, and permanently donate it to the Doukhobor Discovery Centre for the enjoyment of generations to come. The sculpture will be located at the Centre for the campaign, where we hope it will remain forevermore!
“This stunning sculpture has been a crowd favourite since we first showed it in our annual program, and we’re very excited to find it a permanent place here in Castlegar”, says Sculpturewalk Executive Director Joy Barrett. “The artistry and craftsmanship is superb, with the artist deftly portraying the dove’s gracefulness and serenity. We can think of no better home for it than the Doukhobor Discovery Centre.”
“The Doukhobor Discovery Centre is thrilled to have David Turner’s Dove Spirit sculpture on permanent display at our museum,” says Ryan Dutchak, Director of Museum and Culture. “The dove is recognized as a symbol of peace and love. As such, this sculpture serves as a beautiful representation of the Doukhobors’ belief in peace and universal love.”
Castlegar Sculpturewalk is a registered charitable non-profit, and all donations will go directly to the artist to cover the purchase cost of the sculpture.
LINK TO GOFUND ME CAMPAIGN: https://ca.gofundme.com/f/dove-spirit-for-the-doukhobor-discovery-centre
Doukhobor Discover Centre Info:
The Doukhobor Discovery Centre is home to ten historical buildings across ten acres of land where visitors can enjoy indoor and outdoor displays and educational exhibits. Officially opened in 1971 , the Kootenay Doukhobor Historical Society has continued to maintain and expand the Doukhobor Discovery Centre for more than 45 years with numerous fundraising efforts, countless volunteer hours, membership support and restoration projects moving it forward from the modest initial establishment to the world class heritage museum it is today.
https://www.doukhobor-museum.org
About the Doukhobors:
Some 7500 Doukhobors, nearly a third of the total existing population, settled on the Canadian prairies in the early 1900s, establishing dozens of communal village settlements on government granted homesteads in what is now the province of Saskatchewan. Confronted with an apparent breach of agreement by the Canadian government in terms of homestead requirements and allegiance to the crown, a great proportion of these Doukhobors chose on principle, to abandon their villages and nearly a quarter million acres of their cultivated land. Almost 6000 emigrated to British Columbia in 1908 to settle on large parcels of privately purchased land. Nearly 80 communal villages were constructed
