Sydney Harbour's Getting an Epic New Aboriginal Public Artwork
Ever noticed the a severe lack of Aboriginal monuments between the Opera House and Darling Harbour?
Cruising into Sydney Harbour, tourists aren't given too much of a heads up that Sydney is and always will be Gadigal land. Passing the Sydney Opera House (by Danish architect Jorn Utzon) after sailing by the Sydney Harbour Bridge (realised by multiple English-born or -descended minds), there's plenty of European heritage on show. But the City of Sydney intends to give the Aboriginal peoples of Sydney their own monument, to remind both tourists and Sydneysiders of their ancient heritage and also that Indigenous people are a still a huge part of the city's modern identity and community.
The City of Sydney is commissioning an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander artist to get started on a new $1.25 million monument to be located near Sydney Harbour, making moves to fix Sydney's lack of visual recognition of the land's original and remaining inhabitants. According to SMH, the new monument means to publicly celebrate the Eora people of Sydney and recognise the city as traditionally and currently Gadigal land.
"The Monument for the Eora will be a prominent public artwork to honour the Eora Nation and, in time, a Sydney Harbour landmark like the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge," Lord Mayor Clover Moore told SMH. It's all part of the City of Sydney's Eora Journey, a huge project that celebrates the living culture of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Sydney with seven major public artworks, a huge major event, an economic development plan and an upcoming Aboriginal cultural centre.
This isn't Sydney's first major Indigenous public artwork plan, but as SMH points out, past initiatives haven't been realised as they should. Apparently the Biennale of Sydney actually commissioned a huge memorial to Indigenous people in 2010, to be carved into the cliff (carved into the cliff!) across from the Opera House. But it never happened. In better news, many works by Indigenous artists have been commissioned for the Barangaroo site, which has just opened its foreshore park.
Artists need to submit their monument proposal to the City of Sydney by November 16. The $1.25 million artwork is expected to be installed on Sydney Harbour by 2017.
Via SMH.
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