A weekend of Community Celebrations opens the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail.
Thank you to the local families, community representatives, national and international artists and visitors to the Snowy Valleys who made the launch of the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail a special occasion on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 May 2022.
The day began with a live Outside Broadcast by ABC Radio Wagga Wagga from MKS Café. This was followed by over 100 people joining a tour of the sculptures along Adelong Creek Walk accompanied by the Riverina Light Horse Troop. The eight men and women on horseback in full uniform unveiled Harrie Fasher’s ‘The Last Charge’, a memorial to the Battle of Beersheba in 1917. Many members of the Australian Light Horse in World War One came from Adelong, making this artwork all the more poignant. The day continued with recounts of the Battle of Beersheba and letters home from the war by locals from Adelong.
A special thank you to Aunty Sue Bulger for the Welcome to Country and to Dr Joe McGirr MP and James Hayes for official speeches that were accompanied by roasted chestnuts from Keldaniel Farm, followed by family sculpture making workshops and another sculpture tour.
The Batlow Literary Institute was transformed into an Apple Orchard, with children dressed as varieties of apples offering free toffee apples made by students from Batlow Technology School. ‘Do it for Batlow’ hosted a great BBQ alongside great food from the Batlow Hotel, cider tastings, roasted chestnut from Keldaniel Farm and a local produce showcase created a great environment for the official proceedings.
Following the visit days before by Stuart Ayres Minister for Tourism and Sport, Batlow was visited by the Danish Ambassador in Australia and the Consul-General of the Czech Republic in Sydney who unveiled, respectively, ‘The Kiss’ by Keld Moseholm (Denmark) and ‘Green Life’ by Milan Kuzica (Czech Republic). Heartfelt speeches by local community members Margaret Sedgewick, Anne Hallard, Councillor Sam Hughes and Dr Joe McGirr MP were followed by more food and a tour of the sculptures including visiting artists Richard Tipping and Marina DeBris. A special thank you to b.Atelier for its exhibition.
Tumbarumba Rotary Club offered Trio Bike rides among the sculptures along the Tumbarumba Creekscape while the local aussie rules football match played on the adjoiing Tumbarumba Oval. Family sculpture making workshops and sculpture tours took place ahead of official speeches by Justin Clancy MP and Mayor Ian Chaffey, before another sculpture tour saw Ian Chaffey discussing the finer details of abstract metal sculpture with artist Philip Spelman.
On Sunday, a free community BBQ drew a crowd of locals and visitors from Tumut, Adelong, Jingellic, Tintaldra, Albury, Canberra and Wollongong to celebrate the sculpture ‘Oushi Zokei’ by Keizo Ushio (Japan). Joining them were Professor Gavin Younge (South Africa) and Haruyuki Uchida (Japan) who have sculptures in Courabyra Wines. Professor Simon Eckerman from Wollongong University, travelled to Tooma especially to catch up Keizo Ushio and explained to the 70 plus visitors the mathematics behind the interconnecting three mobius rings of Keizo’s granite sculpture that has its permanent home in front of Brigham House and the Tooma Inn.
As the sun shone Justin Clancy MP and Councillor Brent Livermore gave the official speeches followed by a reciting of bush poetry and a family sculpture-making workshop by Elyssa Sykes-Smith originally from NSW now living in London. The day concluded at Obsession Wines with a wine tasting and an artist talk by Takeshi Tanabe (Japan) on his sculpture ‘Locus of Time 18 -1’ overlooking the Snowy Mountains.
This Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Program is jointly funded by the Commonwealth and the New South Wales Government under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.
