A striking large-scale text-based public sculpture has found itself a home on Pakington Street celebrating members of the Greater Geelong Community who have a lived experience with disability.
A sculpture that celebrates people who have a lived experience with disability arrived at the Geelong West Town Hall on Pakington Street.
I AM recognises the empowerment of diversity and draws from political and pop culture statements such as the 1968 Memphis black sanitation workers slogan “I AM a man”, and Helen Reddy’s 1971 anthem “I AM woman.”
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At more than two metres tall, the public artwork was designed to be relocated around the municipality and has previously been installed at the Geelong Waterfront and Austin Park in Lara.
The public art sculpture is the spectacular result from artist Mark Cuthbertson who worked with artist-collaborators Robert Croft, Hannah Wilkinson, Christian Den Besten and George Macaronis, based on over 85 contributions from the local community living with a disability through a series of artist-led workshops.
The resulting text-based works were curated by the artists and cast into the side profile of the I AM letters.
“It has been a true pleasure as an artist bringing the I AM project to the Geelong community. I would like to thank my fellow artistic collaborators and the broader community members for their involvement and contributions to the work, what an amazing outcome,” Cuthbertson says of working with collaborators.
Funded by the Victorian Government through the Community Support Fund, I AM was delivered in partnership with VALiD (Victorian Advocacy League for Individuals with Disabilities) and Geelong-based ArtGusto.
“Each letter in the sculpture weighs around four tonnes,” says Deputy Mayor Anthony Aitken, chair of the Volunteering and Disability portfolio.
“I AM was designed to be relocatable so that awareness can be raised across Greater Geelong around the important concepts it conveys.
“It’s also designed to invite community members to be a part of the work by positioning yourself within and taking photos, joining others in the region who celebrate diversity.”
Visitors can use the hashtag #IAMGeelong when posting photos to social media. I AM can be found outside the Geelong West Town Hall at 153 Pakington Street, Geelong West until October.
