JOHN MACLEAN STATUE CAMPAIGN
Welcome to the second Crowdfunder to raise the funds required to pay for a life-sized statue of John Maclean to be commissioned and erected in Glasgow city centre.
We have obtained a quote for the statue from Powderhall Bronze Ltd which gives an estimated breakdown of the costs (excluding VAT) accordingly:
https://www.powderhallbronze.co.uk/
To produce a full size clay sculpture: £18,500
To mould and cast in bronze: £22,000
Bronze base- Approx. 400mm high 600mm x 600mm footprint: £3,800
Cast bronze plaque- 500mm x 350mm: £1,100
Delivery & installation onto site/foundation: £1,500
TOTAL COST OF QUOTE FROM POWDERHALL BRONZE (Inc. VAT): £56,280
Over and above this total this project needs to raise an additional £2200 which is the approximate cost of the preparation of the foundation site for the statue, which would be undertaken by Glasgow City Council.
Therefore the grand total of funds sought for the project is £58,480, but this was reduced to £48,480 due to receiving a very generous £10,000 donation from a Maclean supporter who wishes to remain anonymous.
Then, the first Crowdfunder raised £14,318, with £13,846.76 received from that sum once Crowdfunder.co.uk deducted £392.53 for transaction fees and £78.71 for VAT - and with the campaign since receiving three cheques totally £520, then the new fundraising target for the John Maclean Statue Campaign is £34113.24, or £34113 for the purposes of the target of this Crowdfunder.
Link to the first Crowdfunder:
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/john-maclean-statue-campaign
Consequently the John Maclean Statue Campaign is appealing for donations large and small, as well as supporters sharing the project to raise awareness of the initiative, and encouraging people to pledge their support for this most worthy cause. We wish to thank each and every one of you who donate and support the project. Lets get this statue Crowdfunded!
WHY A JOHN MACLEAN STATUE?
John Maclean (born 24 August 1879, died 30 November 1923) was not only Scotland's greatest socialist 'saint', but internationally renowned. He held mass gatherings and socialist economic classes in not only Scotland, but also spoke in England, Ireland and Wales. He opposed the First World War and held Hands off India and Ireland campaigns, and took on the might of the British Empire. He also supported a Scottish Worker's Republic before the birth of the modern SNP. Many of the National Party of Scotland were Republican Socialists such as RB Cunninghame Graham, Dr John S Clarke (who also founded the original short lived Labour party 1888-1895), plus Hugh McDiarmid, Compton MacKenzie, Roland E Muirhead et al. MacLean was appointed Soviet consul by Lenin and the Bolsheviks. His consul in South Portland street Glasgow was not recognised by the British Government. He refused to travel illegally, as others did who formed the Great British Communist party. Sir Basil Thompson, head of Security in Scotland, instructed his agents to put the word out that MacLean was "mad". He was sacked and blacklisted from his teaching job, frequently jailed and given hard labour. His official cause of death was pneumonia but he died from starvation and poverty- giving his only overcoat to a black comrade amid a cold November winter. Those paid to watch him 24/7 claimed he was "paranoid", as did his Unionist political opponents who claimed him to be a political deviant. John MacLean is one of Scotland's greatest heroes, yet the city which he called home is yet to pay him the respect that he is due and suitably commemorate his life achievements and lasting legacy. This is why we have started this campaign, and why we encourage donations large and small so that we all can behold a bold bronze statue of the legendary Scotsman in his Native city, over the generations and generations to come.
WILL YOU SUPPORT THIS CAMPAIGN AND HELP SEE MACLEAN RECOGNISED WITH A CITY STATUE?
LONG LIVE JOHN MACLEAN.
ALL HAIL THE SCOTTISH WORKERS REPUBLIC!
#MacLeanCampaign