Siumut was the only party in Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq's municipal council that recently supported a citizens' proposal: Stop the project "New Landmark Nuuk" - we have Sermitsiaq.
The citizens' proposal had received more than the 250 signatures and for that reason it had to be politically processed by the municipal council.
Five million kroner allocated
Regardless of the great opposition, Inuit Ataqatigiit, Demokraatit and Naleraq had no doubts. They were prepared to allocate the five million kroner that the landmark will cost.
The defeat in the municipal council chamber prompted Siumut politician Doris J. Jensen to take to the keys on Facebook:
- I am not against art, but I find it problematic that there is no finance to build a teacher's residence in a settlement like Arsuk, while at the same time, Nuuk is planning art for 5 million kroner.
Beautification
According to KNR, Mayor Avaaraq Olsen justified his position as follows:
- It is not about a new landmark, but about beautification of the city.
Landmark or art. The project was designed by architect Bilo Høegh Stigsen. He won the previous competition, which had a total prize money of 250,000 kroner.
As Sermitsiaq has previously described, “Sermitsiap Qilaataa” is an artistic and architectural tribute to the mountain Sermitsiaq, an icon of Greenland’s capital and identity. The project is inspired by the Greenlandic frame drum Qilaat and has a circular shape with a branch that symbolically points towards the mountain.
