13 Apr 2011

NZ art auction to raise funds for Bougainville library

1:43 pm on 13 April 2011

The Bougainville Library Trust is organising an art auction as it aims to raise funds for its planned library in Arawa in the centre of the previously war-torn Papua New Guinea province.

The library campaign has been headed by New Zealand author Lloyd Jones whose hit novel Mr Pip was set in Bougainville during the civil war.

The Trust has focussed on a library because it says a casualty of the conflict has been the loss of meeting places and books.

Mr Jones says they have raised just over 60,000 US dollars but need 235,000.

The auction will be at Government House in Wellington and will feature donated works from leading New Zealand artists such as Michael Tuffery and Robyn White.

"So we will have I think from memory eight items that will be bid for including poems, commissioned poems by Bill Manhire and Jenny Bornholdt, perhaps some music and then we'll have silent auction on the side and we may also auction off some reading fales."

The auction will be on May the 13th