The MJMAG is currently holding 50/50 draw that with a complete sell-out will bring in a total of $50,000 for the statue of Peggy, the bronze-cast dapple-grey filly that can be found in the museum’s lobby.
The statue is a product of the Julienne Atelier Foundry in Pense and was designed and sculpted by legendary artist Joe Fafard, who passed away in March 2019.
Peggy first arrived in Moose Jaw in 2016, and it took a feat of engineering to get the seven-foot-tall, 700-pound statue to stand sentinel as she does now.
Fafard was exhibiting samples of his lazer-cut steel sculptures in the gallery and asked if a piece of his bronzework could also be included. The day of, he showed up with a horse trailer with Peggy in the back.
A forklift and plenty of finagling later, she was in place. MJMAG curator Jennifer McRorie described what happened next during a tour of the Atelier Foundry in 2019.
“Then Joe made a joke 'now that we've got her down here, you're going to have to buy her or find a way of getting her back to me',” McRorie said. “We had a good laugh, but then I started thinking 'maybe we should buy her', because we actually have only one Joe Fafard sculpture in our collection, it's an older piece. And you see a lot of art galleries getting larger pieces, the McKenzie Art Gallery (Regina) has the three cows; the Mann Art Gallery (Prince Albert) commissioned a wolf by Joe and the national gallery has Joe's running horses out in front... So we're trying to increase our visibility in the community and it's a way of adding to the beauty of the city, just for people to discover a sculpture like that in their day-to-day activities.”
Now an MJMAG institution that remains popular with visitors and especially children, there’s no intention of returning her. And that’s where the 50/50 comes in.
A total of 71,250 tickets are available, with all proceeds going back to the purchase of the statue.
Ticket prices are $10 for one, $20 for four, $50 for 25 and $100 for 100 tickets. Only those in Saskatchewan at the time of purchase may participate in the raffle.
The draw will be made by a random number generator on Friday, Aug. 13 at 4 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery, and the winner will be notified by email or phone with instructions on claiming the prize.
You can purchase tickets by calling (306) 692-4471 or by visiting www.mjmag5050.ca.
