Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

The Secret Bench of Knowledge

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Unveiled
  
May 1, 1994

Artist
  
Lea Vivot

Designer
  
Lea Vivot

Designed by
  
Lea Vivot

Created
  
1994

The Secret Bench of Knowledge httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Location
  
near Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Similar
  
LOVE, Canadian Tribute to, The Kiss

The Secret Bench of Knowledge (formerly Secret Bench, Lost Paradise) is a sculpture created by Canadian artist Lea Vivot and produced in multiple castings. A prominent one is located at the entrance to the Wellington Street Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa, where it was initially placed in 1989 on the artist's own initiative. One year later Vivot removed it and it was replaced four years later by Eugene Boccia from Toronto. The sculpture was unveiled at about 9 AM on the morning of May 1, 1994 in front of a crowd of about 3000 people. The sculpture has many messages inscribed on it, written by school children, about the importance and pleasure of reading.

Other locations for the sculpture include various cities in Ontario (including Sarnia), as well as Montreal (June 1989) and New York City.

The unveiling of the new statue was done by Vivot, assisted by a young blind boy named Gabriel McBride, from Spruce View, Alberta, who inscribed his message in Braille.

References

The Secret Bench of Knowledge Wikipedia