Pop up public artwork displays creativity of region's primary students

SEP 20, 2018

Agnes Water Library is the proud home to Gladstone Regional Council’s newest, pop up public artwork, featuring the creative works of 60 young residents from across the Gladstone Region. 

Gladstone Region Mayor Matt Burnett said the Gladstone Regional Art Gallery & Museum project engaged local artist Kim Cooke to design the layout of the pop up, exhibiting the finalists in Council’s 2018 Celebrate Australia Primary School Art Competition.

“The addition of a vibrant and colourful mural on an external wall of the library displays the artistic talent of our young residents while also inspiring and encouraging entries for our 2019 competition,” Councillor Burnett said. 

He said the Gallery & Museum had received thousands of colourful and imaginative art entries since the competition’s first showing in 2007.

The competition encourages primary school students from across the Gladstone Region to share their thoughts about Australia and the importance of the place in which they live. 

“This competition is a fun and creative way to encourage our region’s students to think about ‘who and what makes Australia great’ to them and to express their views through art,” he said. 

“Each year, it is exciting to see the variety of paintings, drawings and collages created by our young people, with artworks featuring flora and fauna, to landscapes, beaches, sport and other well-known Australian icons.”

All works received, including the finalists, are exhibited at venues across the Gladstone Region throughout the year and 14 selected winning works displayed in Saiki City, Japan as part of the Gladstone Saiki Sister City Cultural Exchange Program. 

Entries for Council’s 2019 Celebrate Australia Primary School Art Competition close 4pm, Friday, December 21.