Offbeat and offshore!

DCSCA is working with the City of Greater Geelong as it initiates the design of an artificial reef and/or sculpture offshore from The Dell, in Clifton Springs.

Marine life reclaims the space!

Such a structure would increase the area's attraction as a leisure and creation centre by encouraging snorkelling and creating  a picturesque view from The Dell Lookout; and it would increase fish numbers by improving the marine environment.

DCSCA has lobbied the council and tourism bodies for the creation of such a structure since 2013. Its lobbying has included a 2015 Community Budget Submission to the council calling for an artificial reef for The Dell; and in 2016, DCSCA added its voice to those of the Boating Industry Association of Victoria and Tourism Greater Geelong and The Bellarine in calling for an underwater sculpture gallery off Clifton Springs.

Now, after six years of false hopes and false starts, it seems that this idea’s time has come. DCSCA congratulates the council for initiating the design and marketing of the reef/sculpture and will work with the council to ensure that the structure reflects local people's views about the area and its future.

(The illustration shows one of Jason de Caires Taylor's many underwater sculptures,)

A mural for Drysdale's arcade

Drysdale’s High Street arcade will receive a major makeover from the local community association.

The Drysdale, Clifton Springs, Curlewis Association (DCSCA) and its Festival of Glass sub-committee have received almost $11,000 from the federal government’s Stronger Communities Programme to design and create a glass mural for the arcade.

Entitled “Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow”, the mural will depict the past, present and possible futures of the northern Bellarine Peninsula, celebrating the local community to itself and to the area’s many visitors.

The DCSCA committee will invite local community, recreational and sporting groups to join in designing and creating twelve glass mosaic panels that will form the mural.

(Photo: DCSCA's Doug Carson and Rick Paradise prepare the arcade wall for the mural.)

Each mural panel will depict a theme or feature of the north Bellarine and will include a visual puzzle to encourage people to actively engage with it, not just admire it.

 

“We’re grateful to our local MP Richard Marles for supporting the arcade mural”, said DCSCA Secretary Patrick Hughes. “The mural will showcase the work of local glass artists and we hope that it will introduce community members to the art and skill of glass mosaic while bringing them together in a shared project.”

The arcade’s owners and tenants are enthusiastic supporters of the project, recognising that the mural will make the arcade a brighter, safer and more inviting space, benefiting businesses within it and pedestrians passing through it.

DCSCA expects to complete the arcade mural by April 2019. It will be a further boost to the area's reputation as a centre of glass art, joining DCSCA's earlier Welcome to Drysdale glass mural on Drysdale’s ‘Village Green’, its annual Festival of Glass (now 9 years old) and its glass art mentorship programme.

The Stronger Communities Programme

The Stronger Communities Programme provides $150,000 to each federal electorate to fund small capital projects that improve community participation. Each Federal MP identifies appropriate projects and invites their authors to apply to the Programme for a grant. Up to 20 projects in each electorate will each receive $2,500 to $20,000.