The new Maroochydore City Centre is set to be enlivened with a $30,000 splash of art and culture.
The emerging CBD is set to benefit from an activation grant, that will fund $10,000 each to First Nations artist Jandamarra Cadd, Sunshine Coast Guitar Orchestra and City Bloom
Walker Corporation Maroochydore City Centre Project Director, Murray McCarthy, said the grant program was a unique opportunity for the community to contribute to the growing centre.
“Our community is crucial to the growth and success of our expanding city centre and we are proud to award $30,000 in grants for community lead placemaking activations.
“They help strengthen the community’s relationship with the city centre’s public space,” he said.
“We look forward to seeing their installations engage and intrigue visitors in the city centre.”
SunCentral CEO Amanda Yeates said the grant program built on the partnership with Walker Corporation and Sunshine Coast Council, to help bring the CBD flourish.
“The creativity of the Sunshine Coast region is second to none and the projects selected for this round are a chance to celebrate the talent of the artists involved and showcase what the city experience has to offer to artists and the wider community,” she said.
Mr Cadd said he will deliver a large three-panelled mural-style artwork and conduct a painting workshop in the garden of the MET site.
“This project is an opportunity to visually express the richness of community and the importance of walking together as people, now and into the future,” he said.
“Working from visual narratives that are thousands of generations old, art becomes an invitation to embrace the wellness and healing that comes through a connection to place.”
Director of Sunshine Coast Guitar Orchestra Andrew Veivers said they will meet fortnightly at the MET from January, in preparation for a high-profile public performance in June.
“We are so excited about rebooting the much-loved Sunshine Coast Guitar Orchestra and inviting local guitarists of all ages and musical skills to join us at the MET for our fortnightly gatherings,” he said.
He said it was “a fantastic opportunity to grow the City Centre as a cultural hub for music making and performance.”
City Bloom Project artist and facilitator Sue Davis said they will host a photography session with media artists and three art-making workshops teaching botanical life drawing and paper lantern making, in addition to a projection event in the MET in March.
The projection will focus on a native plant species and the audience will be invited to respond through art and drawings.
“The grant is a fabulous opportunity to activate the new city centre, to illuminate it with the beauty of our local blooms, and connect with local residents, businesses and visitors through workshops and an event to help grow a vibrant, living city here in Maroochydore,” she said.
“We can’t wait to share the beauty of art within the community,” says Dr Davis.
The new city centre is being delivered in partnership between Sunshine Coast Council, SunCentral Maroochydore and Walker Corporation.
The 53ha greenfield development is one of the biggest urban transformations in Australia, creating a vibrant, modern CBD with wide open spaces, premium commercial offices, hotels, restaurants, retail, entertainment and quality living.
The art and cultural activities will be seen in the city centre Metropolitan (the MET) creative precinct.
The Place Activation Grant Program is delivered in partnership between Walker Corporation, Sunshine Coast Council and the City Activation Team at SunCentral.
