Animal Party in Washington D.C. - July 30, 2002

Two hundred statues of donkeys and elephants under the title 'Animal Party' have been on display in the streets of Washington D.C., the capital of the United States, for six months since last spring. Each of these statues is 144 centimeters tall and 160 centimeters long. The donkey symbolizes the Democratic Party and the elephant symbolizes the Republican Party of the United States. The organization of this street exhibition has been made possible with the help of the 'Commission on Arts and Humanities' of Washington D.C. According to Ms. Dorothy McSweeney, the chair of the Commission on Arts and Humanities, the 'Animal Party' exhibition will attract tourists to Washington, D.C. The tourism industry in the United States has significantly declined after the terrorist events of the previous September. Ms. McSweeney states, 'Holding the Animal Party exhibition is a way to persuade people to visit or revisit Washington... This exhibition is also a tribute to the artistic life of the Washington community.' In February 2002, the best decorators of the donkey and elephant statues will receive a prize of one thousand dollars and two hundred dollars for decoration expenses. At the end of the exhibition, the statues will be auctioned off in the fall of 2002 at the 'Mall' area of Washington D.C. The proceeds will benefit the Commission on Arts and be used for educational art programs. A few years ago, a similar exhibition of cow statues was displayed in the streets of Chicago. The Persian section of the Voice of America has provided photos of these statues, which will gradually be shown on this page for viewers.