A piece of artwork commissioned for the Liverpool Biennial has raised funding for a local charity dedicated to asylum seekers.

Lara Favaretto’s ‘Momentary Monument – The Stone’ was a giant, hollowed-out boulder on display in the heart of Toxteth which members of the public were invited to fill with spare change.

The artwork was exhibited on Rhiwlas Street for 14 weeks and helped generate £1,224 for the Asylum Link Merseyside organisation during its Biennial run.

The donations came in 13 different currencies, including Canadian dollars, Mexican pesos and Chinese yuan, and the proceeds were presented to the charity by Kathleen Soriano, chair of Liverpool Biennial, with director Sally Tallant and Louise Ellman MP, Labour & co-operative MP for Liverpool Riverside, also in attendance.

Ewan Roberts, centre manager for Asylum Link Merseyside, says: “To be told that the artwork had raised over £1,200 for our cause was fantastic. It provides important financial assistance and we could not exist without help like this.

“It’s very heartwarming that people will take the time to think about the asylum seekers who are arriving here. People have given their hard-earned money to help us do something about it and we are very grateful to them, and to Liverpool Biennial and Lara Favaretto, for making this possible.”

Photo by Mark McNulty

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