THE Geelong Botanic Gardens will be the home of the I AM public artwork for the next 12 months.<\/p>\n
The 2m concrete structure recognises community members who have a lived experience with disability and their achievements.<\/p>\n
It acknowledges the empowerment of diversity and draws on political and pop culture statements including 1968 Memphis black sanitation workers slogan “I an a man”, and Helen Reddy’s 1971 song I Am Woman.<\/p>\n
The artwork is designed to be relocated annually around the municipality, and most recently was installed at Drysdale’s Potato Shed.<\/p>\n
City of Greater Geelong executive director placemaking said the public piece reinforces the notion of everyone being welcome.<\/p>\n
“Embedded with words and names from community members with disability, I AM has reached a wide audience having previously been installed in Drysdale, Pako Street, Lara and the Geelong Waterfront.<\/p>\n
“The sculpture invites passersby to be a part of the work – you can position yourself within I AM to take photos that will form a collective voice celebrating the diversity of our local community.<\/p>\n
“I encourage the community to visit the public artwork and use the hashtag #IAMGeelong when posting photos to social media.”<\/p>\n
Geelong MP Christine Couzens agreed, saying: “The I AM sculpture will be a great addition, and attraction, to the Geelong Botanic Gardens.”<\/p>\n
Funded by the Victorian government through the Community Support Fund, I AM was delivered in 2021 in partnership with VALiD (Victorian Advocacy League for Individuals with Disabilities) and Geelong-based ArtGusto.<\/p>\n
The work was commissioned by Mark Cuthbertson and artist-collaborators Robert Croft, Hannah Wilkinson, Christian Den Besten and George Macaronis.<\/p>\n
It also featured more than 85 contributions from the local community.<\/p>\n
For more information, head to the City of Greater Geelong website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE Geelong Botanic Gardens will be the home of the I AM public artwork for the next 12 months. The 2m concrete structure recognises community members who have a lived experience with disability and their achievements. It acknowledges the empowerment of diversity and draws on political and pop culture statements including 1968 Memphis black sanitation […]<\/p>\n