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Chapman's Homer is back!

Behind the scenes

After 10 months sleeping in his crate in the loading bay, Chapman's Homer is back. 

Michael Parekowhai Chapman's Homer 2011. Bronze, stainless steel. Purchased 2013 with the assistance of Christchurch City Council's Public Art Fund and Christchurch Art Gallery Foundation; with thanks to Westpac, IAG, Ben and Penny Gough, Chartwell Trust, Ravenscar Trust, Friends of Christchurch Art Gallery, Grant and Sandra Close, Dame Jenny Gibbs, Kevin and Joanna Hickman, Stewart and Nati Kaa, Tony Kerridge, McFadden family, Andrew and Jenny Smith, Chapman Tripp, Colliers, Meadow Mushrooms, MWH Ltd, Pace Project Management, The Press; and with additional thanks for contributions from 1,074 big-hearted individuals and companies.

Michael Parekowhai Chapman's Homer 2011. Bronze, stainless steel. Purchased 2013 with the assistance of Christchurch City Council's Public Art Fund and Christchurch Art Gallery Foundation; with thanks to Westpac, IAG, Ben and Penny Gough, Chartwell Trust, Ravenscar Trust, Friends of Christchurch Art Gallery, Grant and Sandra Close, Dame Jenny Gibbs, Kevin and Joanna Hickman, Stewart and Nati Kaa, Tony Kerridge, McFadden family, Andrew and Jenny Smith, Chapman Tripp, Colliers, Meadow Mushrooms, MWH Ltd, Pace Project Management, The Press; and with additional thanks for contributions from 1,074 big-hearted individuals and companies.

We are very excited to announce that, thanks to Westpac and the Gallery Foundation, Christchurch's bull has found a new temporary home on the Worcester Boulevard ramp entrance to Christchurch City Council's offices. If you've missed him as much as we have, come down and say hi, pat his nose, elbow or hoof, or snap him in a selfie. And thanks to you all, Chapman's Homer is now officially part of the Gallery's collection.

Chapman's Homer will be at the Council offices for a few months. He's starting to attract quite the line-up of bull-sitters as he prepares to make his way back to the Gallery as part of our ambitious reopening collection show, LIFT!, at the end of 2015. Keep in touch with us to hear about his next movements, and upload your selfies at his Facebook page or ours.

Thanks again for being part of bringing 'the bull' back to Christchurch. He really suits this city, and continues to symbolise the strength of our community.

We've been thrilled with the responses to our new ways of connecting with the Gallery, which we launched last Saturday night. Please read about how you can connect with us for the next five years. We've got big plans (no surprises there) and as they all started with Chapman's Homer, we'd love to have you come along for the ride. You can read about our mission here.