Bushfire-affected residents launch community artworks

The artworks are on permanent display at Tonimbuk Hall and Cannibal Creek Reserve in Garfield North.   

The program was a partnership between Cardinia Shire Council and the Creative Recovery Network, funded by the Victorian Government.  

The project was established to give local bushfire-affected community members the opportunity  to creatively respond to and help process their experience of  the 2019 Bunyip Complex Bushfires. 

Over the two-year program, local artists Gülsen Özer, Janine Good and Sue Jarvis facilitated artistic workshops with the community, which has led to the permanent installation of 2 artworks and a sound piece. 

The program’s achievements were celebrated at an event on Sunday 28 at Cannibal Creek and Tonimbuk Hall.  

The workshops provided a space for community members to come together and recover through art and music. The final artworks recognise and celebrate the strength of the community in the face of adversity. 

Program participant David McMahon said that the program helped him find his “happy face” and that he was “proud of what we have achieved and re-invigorated”.  

The final artworks, both called ‘Meeting Place’, consist of the artists’ designs laser cut into corten steel by local engineer John from Jonco Engineering.  

This sound piece includes soundscapes and music created with and for the community. Listeners are taken on a ‘sound journey’, capturing the spirit and resilience of the community in their recovery.  

For more information about the Creative Recovery Program and bushfire recovery support, go to www.cardinia.vic.gov.au/bushfirerecovery