NEWS DESK Wonder wall: An artwork put up in Frankston during the Big Picture Fest. Picture: Supplied
Frankston a finalist for fine art on street FRANKSTON is in the running to be recognised as the area with the best street art in the country. Frankston’s “inner city street art trail” has been named a finalist in the Best Street Art Trail category of the 2019 Australian Street Art Awards. The artwork was first installed as part of the three day Big Picture Fest. The mayor Michael O’Reilly said “the trail was created by Frankston City Council to leverage more than 20 murals throughout the city centre’s streets and laneways that can be explored as a self-guided experience or as part of a guided tour. The artwork has been installed as part of the Big Picture Fest three-day festival as well
as an ongoing program of artwork which is now being supplemented by individual businesses who are installing their own artwork.” “Renowned international, national and local artists have created timeless pieces of art that not only attract visitors throughout our renowned Big Picture Festival, but also for years to come,” he said. “Frankston has fast become a mustsee destination for free public art with loads of sculptures and a growing collection of cutting edge street art murals, which in my opinion rival that of any city.” Australian Street Art Awards director Liz Rivers said “the awards educate
travellers about the magnificent array of publicly accessible art that can be found in every corner of the country, while showcasing destinations like Frankston that are using publicly accessible art to transform their streets and landscapes.” “Australia has a long history of creating sculptures, monuments and other art that is captivating to visitors. However, there’s never been a way of rewarding and supporting places that created these art related experiences for visitors. The Australian Street Art Awards remedies that shortcoming,” she said. The winners are announced on 6 November.
Questions, answers on climate ‘crisis’ A MORNINGTON Peninsula teacher who trained in Brisbane with former US Vice President Al Gore as part of the Climate Reality Project spoke to members of Berg Mt Martha earlier this month. Sharon Rogers said Mr Gore posed three questions on climate change and the future. The first was: Do we have to change? “We are spewing 110 million tonnes of man-made global warming pollution into the thin shell of the atmosphere every 24 hours as if it were an open sewer,” Ms Rogers said. “This trapped heat is leading to stronger storms and more extreme floods. The many associated threats include climate refugees, rising sea levels, ecosystem loss, infectious disease, and ocean acidification.” The next question was: Can we change? “We’ve already started,” she said. “We have the solutions to curb this massive problem right now. Technologically speaking, the answer lies in tapping into renewable energy sources, namely wind and solar, which can more than supply our collective energy needs. “Economically speaking, grid parity has practically arrived: in most cases the cost of these clean sources of energy is equal to, or less than, the cost of power from traditional ‘dirty’ sources. “In many countries with no electricity grid we are seeing solar panels on grass huts.” The big question was: Will we
change? “As with all past social movements progressing us forward, change will come about only through public will,” Ms Rogers said. “It is up to us to insist on switching over to renewable sources of energy – in fact, to demand it. Fortunately, as Mr Gore puts it: “Political will is itself a renewable resource.” Ms Rogers said that at the individual level “it’s all about personal choices and conscious consuming”. “We must work to change laws and policies,” she said. “We need topdown actions and policies to address this. There’s not enough time for changes only to bubble up from the bottom. “We can solve this climate crisis. We have to be the movement for change and need to be united in our determination to create a brighter future.” Other ways to contribute included speaking up, using their voice, registering people to vote, voting for candidates with a strong stance on combating climate change, and hold elected officials to their promises. SHARON Rogers speaks to Berg Mt Martha members. Picture: Supplied
Frankston Times
22 October 2019
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