Maribyrnong City Council currently has an annual allocation to commission permanent public art as part of its Capital Works and Improvement Program Budget. The commissioning of public art is guided by "On the Edge” Maribyrnong Public Art Strategy. The site chosen for the 2013/14 public art commission is the suburb of Braybrook – specifically the redeveloped Braybrook Community Centre where two permanent public works will be commissioned. The newly developed Braybrook Community Hub is one of a number of projects that Maribyrnong City Council is undertaking as part of its “Revitalising Braybrook” initiative.

An artist selection panel reviewed the works of twenty artists, all of whom were submitted through an Expression Of Interest (EOI), and seven were shortlisted. This blog documents the process by which each artist/artist team will work with artist/curator Kendal Henry to develop final proposals which will then be presented to a public art panel, Council and the general public. Only two proposals will eventually be awarded commissions.

4.20.2014

Council awarded $40,000 to Archinauts

The artwork “Pollyanna's Egg” reflects the emergence of a more cohesive and optimistic community. By acknowledging the past, present and future stories of Braybrook the work is representational of a cross-section of people and places telling a story across time. The story is uniquely Braybrook, unlike any other. We take as our starting point the true story of a 12-year-old Braybrook resident Trena Telford and her pet goose, Pollyanna, as it appears in the Argus, August 1956. This story has been developed into a children's book, “Pollyanna’s Egg” written and illustrated by the artist. The story which celebrates themes of friendship and children's agency to effect positive outcomes is commemorated with a timber sculpture in the form of a large egg to se sited at the new Braybrook community library. 

The large goose egg is carved from recycled timber and raised on a form concrete plinth. A “nest” of long grassy plants with delicate feathery tips obscures the plinth. The egg contains a hollow center, which will contain a weatherproof time capsule. The time capsule will be opened at an unspecified time in the future. The inclusion of the time capsule brings the egg to life there's a sense that one day in the future it will hatch, bring to the light things that were valuable too community in 2014.

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