Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu will be commemorated with a wooden arch to be unveiled on Saturday to coincide with 86th birthday.
The church leader is one of Milnerton’s most famous residents and has remained a beacon of forgiveness, peace and empathy, as well as a uniting figure for South Africans.
The 14 individual arched beams, each representing one of the 14 chapters in the country’s constitution, form a dome.
The sculpture is the brainchild of Ravi Naidoo, Design Indaba’s founder (“Arch for ‘The Arch’”, Tabletalk, July 26) and it is being set up next to the St George’s Cathedral on the corner of Wale and Adderley streets.
Mr Naidoo said it would be there for five years, but could become a permanent feature if supported by the public. Mayor Patricia de Lille said Archbishop Tutu had continued to “speak truth to power” even after the country’s liberation.
“The Arch for the Arch, representing the 14 chapters of our constitution, must be a constant reminder to all of us about where we come from and to uphold the values contained therein.”
A prototype of the arch was unveiled at the Design Indaba Conference in March.
The wooden arches were bent by Croatian boat builder Dario Farcic in Johannesburg.
Permission had to be sought from the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) to have the arch put up.
