Elizabeth Quay Signature Ring – Where’s your signature?

If you, like me, were in Primary School or High School in Western Australia around the year 2000, you may remember signing a piece of paper that eventually become part of hundreds of marked tiles around the Swan Bell Tower.

The project was called ‘sign-in 2000 project’ at the time. Back in 2000, Arts minister Mike Board said the signatures project “would create an enduring link to the past”.

Here’s the original letter school students were given back in 1999.

When news broke that the belltower student signatures would be ripped up by developers at Elizabeth Quay, there was outcry.

“The tiles, which contain about 200,000 signatures from students at WA schools in 1999, were considered too fragile to preserve,” The West Australian reported in July 2014.

But the government stepped in and promised to save the signatures.

This week the new installation at Elizabeth Quay was unveiled. There you’ll find the 200,000 signatures restored, created by WA artists Simon Gauntlett and Matthew Ngui.

The new artwork is funded as part of the $4 million public art program for Elizabeth Quay with a $150,000 contribution from the Rotary Club of Perth, via a Lotterywest grant.

Video: MRA ‘The Signature Ring’

You can find your signature at the MRA website, by searching your school and scrolling.

“All of the signatures formerly at the base of the Bell Tower have been etched into copper plates creating a new and contemporary artwork that will be on display for years to come,” John Day, Minister for Planning, Culture and Arts said.

“The Signature Ring will become a must see attraction for locals and visitors to the city.”