Help us create a beautiful space for Yinka Shonibare’s Hibiscus Rising, remembering David Oluwale
This November, as part of LEEDS 2023, the city’s Year of Culture, Hibiscus Rising, will be unveiled in memory of the life and legacy of David Oluwale.
The David Oluwale Memorial Association is dedicated to telling David Oluwale’s story, so we were delighted when world-famous artist, Yinka Shonibare CBE RA, heard David’s story and agreed to create Hibiscus Rising, a ten-meter high, hibiscus flower sculpture.
Shonibare’s piece will be an important feature of a new park planned for Leeds city centre on the site of the former Tetley brewery, close to the River Aire. Work started on the site in 2021. Named Aire Park, it will be the largest new city centre green space in the UK.
We want to ensure this gift to the city will have a beautiful space to bloom and we need your help to raise £15,000 to create this space.
David Oluwale was a British-Nigerian migrant born in Lagos, who moved to the UK in 1949 to make a new life. Although initially happy, his experience in Leeds was ultimately tragic. After experiencing a blow to the head by the police, David faced ill mental-health, homelessness, racism and systematic police harassment and violence, before being hounded to his death in 1969 by drowning in the River Aire.
Sadly, the challenges that David faced are still being experienced by many people today. Through Hibiscus Rising, Yinka Shonibare uses his own happy childhood memories to reflect on Oluwale’s life story differently and create a new legacy filled with hope and unity.
In collaboration with Leeds City Council and LEEDS 2023, Hibiscus Rising symbolises our commitment to making Leeds a welcoming city of inclusion and equality. The £15,000 will enable us to create a beautiful, practical and accessible space for Hibiscus Rising, a space for people to come together and connect, a space for the city to remember the past and imagine a more inclusive future.
We are so grateful for any support you can give and as a thank you, you will receive a special reward for your donation. Your contribution, however small or big, whatever you can afford, will make a difference.
