Colourful, community-designed art inflatable creations have landed in Crown Street Mall!
It's all part of Spin Fest – Wollongong City Council's community celebration that complements the 2022 UCI Road World Championships. One of the creative projects to check out is Spin Energy, a collection of unique inflatable artworks that will spark curiosity during the day and are gently illuminated at night.
Wollongong City Council partnered with The Beautiful and Useful studio, led by artists Matthew Aberline and Maurice Goldberg, to design and install the collection of collaborative pieces in the Crown Street Mall.
Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM said the artworks added fun, colour and energy to the Crown Street Mall during the 2022 UCI Road World Championships.
"The Beautiful and Useful Studio are renowned for their inventive colourful creations that have been displayed in Sydney, Melbourne, New York, Copenhagen and London. It's wonderful to introduce such fun and colourful temporary pieces to one of Wollongong's busiest precincts, the Crown Street Mall," Cr Bradbery said.
"What makes these unique to Wollongong is that they were designed through collaborative community workshops where the participants combined bold colours and graphic prints to create something distinctive and eye-catching."
The Beautiful and Useful Studio also collaborated with students from Wollongong TAFE NSW and Figtree High School on the final designs.
More than 700 individual artworks were created in the workshops. The artists have collaged these works to create the one-of-a-kind fabric prints used in the inflatable artworks.
Images: Thanks to all the workshop participants for helping create this project, including Year 11 students from Figtree High School, TAFE NSW Wollongong Graphic Design students, and a diverse group of Wollongong locals.
The final pieces represent the Spin Energy of the UCI Road World Championships, along with our community's connection to the land and seascape of the Illawarra.
"We are super exited to create a work that captured the energy of Spin Fest- framed by the beautiful ocean and green landscapes. The works are completely abstract, but reference the surf and ocean life, the green mountains, and forests… In a way it's an energetic portrait of Wollongong as created by people who love it," said Matthew Aberline from the Beautiful and Useful Studio
At the same time, we've set-up the Crown Street Mall, Globe Lane and the Arts Precinct as Spin Fest zones during the 2022 UCI Road World Championships. Visit these spaces for the perfect place to soak up the atmosphere between races, grab lunch or dinner, sip a sunset cocktail, browse market stalls, and enjoy roving circus performers and live music.
"The CBD is going to be an exciting place to be during the championships. There are, of course, the races being held across the week but there is so much more than cycling to draw people into the city and for residents and visitors to enjoy," Cr Bradbery said.
"There will be a lot happening during the downtimes between UCI races such as live music, markets in the Crown Street Mall, outdoor dining, roving circus performers, and art exhibitions including the Spin Energy Inflatable artworks.
"Whether you're a keen road cycling supporter or simply love the experience of being in an Olympic-sized event, there will be so much to see, do and enjoy in Wollongong over the Championships.
"We hope you come along and join the fun and excitement. It's a good idea to plan your trip to the Wollongong CBD ahead of time and consider alternative transport options such as walking, cycling, catching a train or bus."
