This week is National Reconciliation Week (27 May to 3 June) and marks the one-year anniversary of the public sculpture installation Sovereign Tree in Landcox Park, Brighton East.
Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
Sovereign Tree by Robert Michael Young, a Gunnai, Waradjuri, Gunditjmara, and Yorta Yorta artist, is an important marker of healing and acknowledgement of Bayside's Indigenous history. As Robert explains, this sculpture 'is about healing and about communities coming together'.
Scar Trees mark significant grounds and have traditionally been used as signposts to show the way or show what the space was significant for.
The work was commissioned following a recommendation by the Arts & Gallery Advisory Committee to Bayside City Council for a work of art that acknowledged the Indigenous history of the area.
The artwork reflects the objectives the Bayside Arts, Culture and Libraries Strategy 2023-2027 and Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan 2022-2024 to encourage support and promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and culture in Bayside.
Watch the Sovereign Tree video:
