News Alert |

Two local artists are hoping their new public art display will spark a conversation in the community about the Creative City Strategy.

Heather Horrocks and Marg Dobson, collectively known as the Pike-Lettes, have transformed Ballarat’s Police Lane into a billboard – with the Draft Creative City Strategy the centrepiece.

But their creative aspirations do not stop there.

Naming their work Billboard Soapbox, Horrocks and Dobson will be holding regular reading performances between now and the end of community consultation on the strategy to encourage discussion, discourse and debate within the community.

Both artists, whose idea it was to generate community interest in the strategy through a public art display in the CBD, will be in Police Lane tomorrow morning to talk to media about why they think it’s important to encourage public responses to the draft strategy and accompanying master plan.

The Draft Creative City Strategy and accompanying master plan are currently available to download and review from mysay.ballarat.vic.gov.au

Ballarat’s Creative City Strategy will:

Start with our strong arts and culture core, and make it even stronger. Expand the reach and impact of our arts and culture offering throughout our community – making it an essential part of what Ballarat is all about and what we all experience. Continue to grow and expand our creative industries sector – the digital games developers, fashion designers, architects, film makers, publishers, jewellery makers, advertisers and so on – so it becomes a key economic sector in Ballarat. Actively work to bring together creatives and creative industries with our other Ballarat industries – to co-design solutions to problems, to inspire each other, to collaborate and to innovate. Seek to use all of this to address broader community issues for Ballarat – using arts, culture, creativity and innovation - to be life affirming and life changing; to enrich our lives and build stronger, more cohesive communities.

Community consultation closes 1 February 2019.

For more information about Ballarat’s Creative City Strategy visit mysay.ballarat.vic.gov.au