The 60-foot-high sculpture created from 2,000 pounds of illegal firearms is already in the Bushnell Park field near the stage but is not due to have its tarp removed until 1pm on September 3, 2014. What’s under wraps right now are two hands shaking.
This piece will only be a temporary feature in the park; a press release sent from the Mayor’s Office in May said the sculpture would arrive in July and stay for nine months, but now the art by Michael Kalish is supposed to move along at the end of this year.
Hartford was selected to kick off the “Raise the Caliber” campaign with this monument by Kalish. It was created from guns voluntarily turned in during a buyback program. The artist calls this “the most powerful piece” that he has “ever created.”
Raise the Caliber is described by the Mayor’s Office as an “advocacy campaign to end to illegal gun violence.”