'Community Concepts' - Festival of Glass submission

The Festival of Glass committee has submitted a proposal to the City of Greater Geelong's 'Community Concepts' programme.

The City of Greater Geelong (CoGG) initiated the programme in December 2013, when it invited individuals, groups and organisations in the Greater Geelong area to submit proposals for capital works, to be considered for inclusion in the council's 2014 - 2015 budget. Submissions opened in December and closed on January 17 2014.

The Festival of Glass committee is a sub-committee of the Drysdale and Clifton Springs Community Association Inc., which initiated the Festival of Glass in 2011. Our submission is below.


Name of project: ‘Bridging Our Heritage: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow’
Brief description of the project

This sixteen month mural project will create two glass-based public art exhibits in Drysdale. The project is a partnership between the Festival of Glass, the Drysdale & Clifton Springs Community Association (which launched the Festival in 2011) and Bellarine Secondary College, advised by Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-op and Bellarine Historical Society; and it reinforces Drysdale’s growing national and international reputation for glass-related art, craft and industry. The first exhibit will be a free-standing, ceramic and glass ‘Welcome to Drysdale’ sign on the ‘Village Green’. This will give the mural team the knowledge and experience to create a major ceramic and glass mural with the theme, ‘Bridging Our Heritage: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow’.

In practical terms, separate glass/ceramic strands (‘Yesterday’) will be braided together (‘Today’) and then unwound again (‘Tomorrow’). This shows that our ever-changing community includes not only its various groups, associations, schools and businesses but also the continuing presence of Wathaurong people and culture and the continuing effects of European arrival (including the significance of Anne Drysdale and of the mineral springs at Clifton Springs). The braid of ‘Today’ unwinds again into the disparate hopes and dreams of the community and especially of its diverse young people - our ‘Tomorrow’.

Objectives of the project

This project’s objectives support the council’s priorities as follows:

‘Community well being’.

·      To connect different sections of the local community (e.g. clubs, schools, community associations, volunteer groups) in a creative project that enhances the well being and quality of life of the whole community.

‘Growing our economy’.

·      To support existing local businesses by making Drysdale a more vibrant, attractive and distinctive destination for residents and visitors.

·      To promote innovation in the local economy by encouraging the establishment of new, glass-related businesses. This will complement the success that the Festival of Glass has had already in promoting such new businesses.

·      To promote Drysdale – and the Bellarine Peninsula more broadly – as a centre of glass-related art, craft and industry, making it more attractive to artists, craftspeople and companies. This complements the Festival’s forthcoming Glass Trail, which aims to encourage and promote new and existing glass-related businesses in the region.

Street address and suburb: ‘Village Green’ and Hancock Street, Drysdale.

Council ward: Cheetham 

Estimate of total project cost: $14,200 (Phase One: $2,100; Phase Two: $12,100)

Details of community group’s contribution (if any)

The Festival’s mural team will:

·      oversee the design and execution of each phase of the project, including co-ordinating practical, ‘hands on’ participation in each phase by local individuals, groups, societies, schools, etc.

·      seek appropriate permissions from landholders

·      obtain local funding to support council funding. (The team has local pledges of $1,200 already for Phase One.)

Previous project funding

This mural project has received no funding. However, the Festival of Glass has received council funding in each of its four years.

Ongoing maintenance requirements (if any).

The sign and the mural will each be built of resilient materials – glass, ceramics and steel – that will require minimal maintenance.