Canoe creators announced during special ceremony

Geelong’s Extreme Arts Walk – Mountain to Mouth 2016 announced the recipients of its major sculpture commission in a special ceremony at Eastern Beach last week.
Papua New Guinean artist, Leonard Tebegetu and Australian artist, Mahony Maia Kiely were jointly awarded the commission – which will enable the creation of Mountain to Mouth 2016’s lead ephemeral artwork, Canoe.
City of Greater Geelong mayor Darryn Lyons said the commission, made possible by the Australia Council for the Arts, would facilitate the creation of Canoe – a vessel which would carry water from the ancient rockwell at Big Rock, You Yangs, along the 80 kilometre journey to rejoin the ocean at Barwon Heads.
He said Leonard Tebegetu and Mahony Maia Kiely last worked together on the Pacific Games Opening Ceremony and he was delighted they were collaborating again for Mountain to Mouth 2016.
Leonard Tebegetu will work with Mahony Maia Kiely over the next month to create Canoe – as well as undertake a series of workshops together for professional artists across the region.
Mountain to Mouth is a two-day “journey of discovery” across the Geelong region on May 6 and 7 – an 80-kilometre walk from the You Yangs mountain range, crossing Geelong’s industrial heartland at nightfall and arriving into the city centre to collide with Geelong After Dark, central Geelong’s pop up night of arts.
At dawn the next day, walkers follow the Barwon River through rolling Bellarine farmland.
Tired legs have the option of riding a historic Bellarine Railway locomotive service across the Bellarine Peninsula or to just keep walking, with all participants then walking along the ocean beach to reach the river mouth at Barwon Heads by sunset.
Register for the event online at mountaintomouth.com.au.