Tembo Wash Day Returns for 2024!
Tembo Wash Day is back once again this year. Everyone is invited to this treasured family-friendly event where you can help give the Windsor Sculpture Park’s Tembo and the baby elephants their annual bath! Warm, soapy water and all the supplies you need will be provided by the Windsor Sculpture Park Conservation and Preservation Team.
Join us Saturday, July 20, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. as we celebrate our scenic Windsor Sculpture Park. Known as a “museum without walls,” the Windsor Sculpture Park showcases more than 30 large-scale, internationally recognized works of contemporary sculpture by world-renowned artists, as part of an ever-growing public art collection. Tembo Wash Day pays tribute to one of the star sculptures, giving families a hands-on opportunity to join in the conservation and the fun!
A beloved sculpture park gem, Tembo by artist Derrick Stephan Hudson is a beautiful and majestic African elephant guiding her two babies. Tembo is the Swahili word for “African elephant.” The three elephants, cast in bronze, depict the strength and loyalty of a mother caring for her children. The massive mother elephant stands solidly guarding her youngsters, providing protection and care. Her triangular-shaped ears, sometimes said to resemble the continent of Africa, help to distinguish the subject as an African elephant. The ears of an elephant are like fingerprints; each is completely unique and can be used by scientists for identification. Weighing almost as much as 80 people or six automobiles, this enormous mother elephant is one of the largest bronze elephants in the world.
This event is part of the Windsor Sculpture Park’s Conservation and Preservation summer program. To maintain the diverse outdoor collection, regular maintenance is necessary because pollution, moisture (rain, snow, mist, humidity), ultraviolet rays, and a variety of other factors are constantly impacting the sculptures and other works. Every piece of public art, monument and memorial has its own particular conservation and preservation needs, and the City of Windsor is dedicated to meeting those needs to ensure the pieces in the collection remain a part of the cultural assets and resources that define and showcase what is unique about Windsor.
Each summer season, conservation and preservation work is carried out by summer students. Working with the Community Services Division, and through the departments of Parks, Recreation & Culture, and Facilities, these talented student conservation assistants assess, document, re-paint, clean and wax the sculptures along our waterfront while also preserving other works across the city. If you see our student staff members on site at the Windsor Sculpture Park, or elsewhere in the community this summer, please feel free to stop and say hello. They welcome the opportunity to talk to residents and visitors about the process they are following to protect Windsor’s treasures.
Quotes:
“The City of Windsor is proud to showcase a diverse collection of public art, monuments and memorials along our waterfront, and in parks and neighbourhoods across the entire city. This unique annual event gives residents and visitors a chance to immerse themselves in the process of caring for public art while instilling a true sense of pride in the valuable works of art spread throughout the city of Windsor.” - Michelle Staadegaard, Manager, Culture & Events
“Please join us for this beloved family event! Help us give Tembo and her babies the care they deserve. Grab a sponge, get immersed, and make memories while learning more about the City of Windsor’s beautiful and dynamic public artworks.” - Salina Larocque, Cultural Development Coordinator – Public Art
More information on the Tembo Sculpture can be found on the City of Windsor website CityWindsor.ca.