Courtesy photo
Giorgio Gikas.
After seven years, Detroit's long-ballyhooed RoboCop statue now has a permanent home and should soon be on display to the public.
The project's organizers announced on Wednesday that the bronze statue of the sci-fi Detroit hero will be installed at the Michigan Science Center, though an official unveiling date has still not yet been set.
Writing on the project's Kickstarter page, organizers acknowledged the statue's long and, at times, uncertain journey, writing, "The day you thought would never come is now bearing down upon us." According to the post, the paperwork with the Science Center was signed earlier in the day.
"Detroit is an amazing city," organizers wrote. "We hope that this statue introduces more of you to it, and we hope that by being at the Science Center it helps inspire more people and more youth to get involved in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). And, frankly, to mix STEM skills with right-brained creativity."
The project started with a man tweeting to then-mayor Dave Bing in 2011 saying that Detroit needed a RoboCop statue, which quickly went viral — resulting in a crowdfunding campaign that raised more than $67,000 for the project.
The project was delayed when the scope increased from a seven-foot tall statue to 10-feet tall. The project was further delayed after the main sculptor, Giorgio Gikas from Detroit's Venus Bronze Works Inc. was diagnosed with cancer in 2016.
Stay on top of Detroit news and views. Sign up for our weekly issue newsletter delivered each Wednesday.
