GIVE PEACE A CHANCE

A Sculpture by Marielle Heessels and Denis Kleine

The Dream:

Art has always been a vehicle for expressing peace in the world.

And the world has never needed this transformative power more than it does now.

Based on their travel experiences and deep concern for our world, sculptors Marielle Heessels (Netherlands) and Denis Kleine (Canada) feel compelled to bring their peace symbol project to life, 'Give Peace a Chance'.

'Give Peace a Chance' will be an eight foot tall bronze sculpture with a man and woman in the centre lines and 100 life casting of hands making up the outer circle.

The joining of hands from people living in various parts of the world signifies the international belief in peace and harmony and that peace is in our hands. Forty hands have already been cast from residents of Israel and Palestine.

In 2014, Denis and Marielle travelled to Israel. They saw the huge physical wall that exists between Israel and the West Bank and the immense security required to keep these people separated. These two artists personally witnessed the differences and disparity between these two different factions. Art has always been a force for peace in the world.

The differences between the way people live on either side of the wall is dramatic. The presence of UN personnel emphasizes that there are serious issues that need to be dealt with and resolved.

Both artists saw and experienced the injustice that is happening to the people living in Palestine. It is their dream that this sculpture will shed some light on what is happening in Palestine and that something positive will come from their latest creation.

The sculpture will be placed within the community of Wahat al Salam al Neve Shalom, Israel. Denis and Marielle visited the small community while on their trip. The name Neve Shalom means ‘Oasis of Peace’. This is a small village where Palestinian and Jews from Israel choose to live together by choice.

This community is a symbol of peace and the embodiment of the meaning behind the sculpture. It is the perfect place for ‘Give Peace A Chance’ to be installed.

The Artists:

Denis lives in Nelson, BC, Canada. He has completed several life size and larger sculptures in Canada and also has public sculptures in the USA and Europe. www.deniskleine.ca

Marielle lives in Rijen, Netherlands. She is an accomplished sculptor creating realistic art works for public museums. Her instagram is: @marielleheesselssculptor

The Plan (GoFundMe):

We hope that you will support our project called ‘Give Peace A Chance’ which is now launched on GoFundMe.

We will bring everyone up to date with the latest news and processes regarding the creation of this sculpture.

If there was enough funding for further sculptures like this to be created, it is the dream of these two artists to see more of these sculptures finding homes in other parts of the world where symbols of peace are needed.

The Budget:

The budget for this project is shown below with the majority of the costs going to the foundry for casting the bronze components.

BUDGET FOR BRONZE SCULPTURE ‘GIVE PEACE A CHANCE’

Casting of 60 more hands for a total of 100.....................................$ 3500

Sculpting of 2 figures by Marielle Heessels and Denis Kleine......$20,000

Molding of 2 figures & base (materials included)............................$ 9,000

Wax chasing of 2 figures, base and 100 hands................................$ 7,500

Bronze casting of 90-100 hands..........................................................$18,000

Bronze casting of 2 figures on the base with ring and hands........$90,000

Engineer fee.............................................................................................$ 4,000

Concrete base, crane hire and shipping............................................$15,000

Contingency fee.....................................................................................$ 8,000 __________________________________________________________________ Total..........................................................................................................$175,000

Silkscreen print (unframed)

Signed and numbered by artist Denis Kleine

11" x 15" (28 cms x 38 cms)

Edition of 50

Will be sent with donation of $1000

Bronze Plaque

Signed and numbered by artist Denis Kleine

4" x 4" (10.5 cms x 10.5 cms) bronze

Mounted on 6" x 6" (15 cms x 15 cms) wood backing

Will be sent with donation of $2000