Lismore residents are invited to help create the largest ever sand and soil art sculpture on the North Coast to promote child protection.
The event – Lismore Plays its Part! Stronger Communities, Safer Children – will be held on Saturday, 3 September, for National Child Protection Week and will offer entertainment and creative activities for adults and children to engage in together.
This includes joining artist Karma Barnes to create a huge mandala-type sculpture made from coloured soil and sand pigments.
‘Collaborative public art is a great way to draw public attention to social issues as well as a great experience for people to work together,’ Barnes said.
‘Installation art is an artistic genre of three dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space.’
According to Louise Collins from YWCA NSW, the event is a combined community effort to raise awareness about the role everyone plays in keeping children and young people safe and well.
‘We’ve chosen to invite the whole Lismore community to create a huge sand and soil installation to symbolise our commitment to providing the best possible environment for children so they can grow and thrive,’ she said.
‘We can all play our part in creating a safe, child-friendly community.’
The event is supported by the Lismore Business Panel and will take place from 12-5pm on the roundabout at the junction of Magellan and Keen streets in the city centre.
Road closures will be in place at the roundabout on the corners of Magellan and Keen Streets from midday to create a shared space and carnival atmosphere surrounding the installation.
‘Installations such as this are a wonderful way for people to connect with one another and collectively express their feelings about a particular issue,’ City Centre Manager Jason Mumford said.
‘Not only will the installation create a feature in the middle of the city, but it will also allow Lismore as a community to make a strong public statement about our wish for children to be able to grow up safe from harm. This kind of community art is very powerful.’
The whole community is invited to participate in building the artwork. An activity kit has also been distributed to Lismore schools and students will create clay artworks that will be added to the installation on the day. The afternoon will also see local music, dance and theatre performances, a sausage sizzle; jumping castle, face painting and other children’s activities; and Lismore Mayor Jenny Dowell will read to children in the Story Time space.
For further information about the day visit www.cometotheheart.com.au or www.facebook.com/cometotheheart. Further information about National Child Protection Week: http://napcan.org.au/
