The Art on the Great Victorian Rail Trail Project was officially opened at an event at Trawool Estate on Friday 26 May ahead of a major tourism campaign planned for spring.
The project has seen seven large-scale artworks and a series of smaller works placed along the length of the 134km Great Victorian Rail Trail (GVRT).
The joint initiative between Murrindindi, Mansfield and Mitchell Shire Councils, aims to improve the rail trail experience by implementing innovative and impactful art installations to attract visitors to the trail and surrounding towns within the region.
The GVRT will also benefit from a series of new wayfinding and interpretive signs installed along the trail.
These signs will improve the visitor experience on the trail, sharing First Peoples stories and information and connecting people with sites along the trail.
As part of the project, a Community Reference Group (CRG) was formed based on Expressions of Interest received.
The CRG met on several occasions to provide input and feedback on the project, including the curatorial direction of the project, potential art installation locations and consideration during the artist selection phase.
Seven artists were then chosen for the large scale works through a two-stage expression of interest selection process and Taungurung artist Mick Harding was also selected to create 20 scar trees along the Trail.
Mick and his sons removed the bark from eucalypts and carved symbols into them to articulate their relationship to their Ancestors and Country.
The work draws on traditional tree scarring practised by many First Nations peoples from the south-east of Australia.
Taungurung people have been removing the bark from trees to use for various purposes such as baby carriers, food collection vessels and canoes for at least 2000 generations.
The trees will heal over time, leaving a lasting marker of the continued connection of First Nations people to Country.
Guests at the opening heard from the Attorney General of Victoria Jaclyn Symes MP about this exciting project and its potential to bring visitors and economic benefit to the region
We thank the Victorian Government's Regional Tourism Investment Fund whose $1.2 million grant covered the full cost of the artworks, their installation and the selection process.
