‘Show some love’ — Tembo the bronze elephant takes her annual bath

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Tembo the elephant is all washed up.  

Dozens of children and their families helped city conservationists give Tembo — one of the world’s largest bronze elephant sculptures — and her babies their annual bath on Saturday at Windsor’s riverfront. 

“It’s an opportunity to show some love to our wonderful and beloved Windsor Sculpture Park, and also to teach our community about conservation, the value of public art, and to celebrate this gem of our city,” said Salina Larocque, a cultural development coordinator with the City of Windsor. 

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Tembo Wash Day is part of the conservation and preservation summer program for the Windsor Sculpture Park, which the city calls “a museum without walls.” 

The park showcases more than 30 large-scale, internationally recognized works of contemporary sculpture by world-renowned artists. 

Tembo Wash Day also included some giveaways and a scavenger hunt for kids to get them more immersed in the sculpture park. 

As many as 100 people typically show up for the annual drop-in event. 

“For one thing, kids love the elephant,” said Larocque. “It’s so endearing, Tembo and her babies. It’s about family, love, nature. So I think the elephant itself is really easy to identify with and fall in love with. But also seeing what our staff do and then getting to participate in that, too. Who doesn’t love playing with sponges, hoses, soapy water on a hot sunny day?” 

The city said regular maintenance of the sculptures is necessary because a variety of factors including pollution, ultraviolent rays, and moisture such as rain, snow and humidity are taking a constant toll on them. 

“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,” said culture and events manager Michelle Staadegaard. “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.” 

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The city said Tembo Wash Day “pays tribute to one of the star sculptures.” Tembo is the Swahili word for “African elephant.” The bronze sculptures, by artist Derrick Stephan Hudson, depict a protective mother guiding her two babies.  

“Weighing almost as much as 80 people or six automobiles, this enormous mother elephant is one of the largest bronze elephants in the world,” the city said. 

Summer students do the annual conservation and preservation work. The student conservation assistants assess, document, re-paint, clean, and wax the sculptures.  

Occasionally, families can also get involved with events like Tembo Wash Day. 

“Really, we’re hoping to instill some love and engender appreciation of our artworks and the culture in our city, and maybe get some future sculpture park conservation assistants who will fall in love and want to work with us,” said Larocque. 

twilhelm@postmedia.com

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