A Seeds of Unity Mandala, made up of hundreds of painted leopard tree pods, will grow at Bundaberg Art Gallery with the community invited to take part in its ongoing installation.
Starting later this month, Council will host drop-in activities and pop up stalls at community events and at the region’s galleries.
The activities will be held throughout the remainder of the year with residents invited to paint a leopard tree pod to add to the work of art.
Council’s Arts, Culture and Events portfolio spokesperson Cr John Learmonth said the Seeds of Unity project represented community spirit, character, image, and pride.
“When we collaborate, we create a ripple effect that shapes connections within our community, and we become a part of something greater than ourselves,” he said.
“This art installation recognises that being part of a community can have a positive effect on mental health and emotional wellbeing.
“It will provide people with a sense of belonging and enables us to share personal experiences and support each other, ourselves, and our environment.”
Cr Learmonth said the activity would help bring the community together while creating an opportunity for people to showcase their unique creativity.
“This is a fantastic project being launched by Bundaberg Regional Galleries in a bid to embed the creative arts within the community as a means for improving social connectivity and mental health,” Cr Learmonth said.
“The beauty of a Mandala, is that it is complete and evolving, simultaneously.”
Seeds of Unity workshops start in June
The community art workshops will launch on Saturday 25 June at Childers Art Space and the Gin Gin Community Hub, while in Bundaberg, the Outdoor Art Room will facilitate the activity during the school holidays on Tuesday 28 June, Friday 1 July, Tuesday 5 July and Friday 8 July.
Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery will feature this project as its ongoing activity and will make sessions available during the September and October school holidays.
There will be Seeds of Unity pop up stalls at a number of community events throughout the remainder of the year including:
• Childers Festival
• Taste Festival
• Milbi Festival
To ensure there is enough seed pods, leopard tree pod donations for this project are welcome and can be dropped at the Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery or Childers Art Space.
Painted seed pods can only be accepted from gallery hosted workshops as, due to the fragile nature of artworks in the gallery, all pods must be specially treated by gallery staff prior to being utilised.
Leopard trees are often planted on footpaths and their seed pods cover the ground around them, although please ensure pods that are collected are clean and unbroken.
This will be the fourth activity of its kind, based on the original project developed by Womenspace in Sandgate in 1998.
Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery is reimagining The Seeds of Unity project as a large-scale community involvement art installation.
The project has been purposely designed to be accessible to all of community over an extended duration.
It is hoped to capture the attention of a diverse range of participants to create their own unique piece to include in this large-scale ephemeral artwork.
The first contributions to the project will be on display from Saturday 20 August and the installation will be ever growing and on display until the end of the year.
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