Mount Gambier Council to vote on $130,000 ‘bold’ megafauna-inspired CBD artwork

Inspired by the megafauna that once roamed Australia, an SA council will vote on spending $130,000 on an “ambitious” public artwork for its CBD.

The proposed concept of the "bold and ambitious" piece designed to give Mount Gambier its own "iconic" artwork in the city's CBD. Picture: City of Mount Gambier/Huna Studios

A “bold and ambitious” sculpture inspired by the megafauna that once roamed Australia has been designed to give SA’s second-largest city its own “iconic” CBD artwork.

Mount Gambier Council will on Tuesday discuss whether to allocate $136,250 to the creation and installation of a standout piece of artwork for the city’s CBD.

The proposed artwork in is a sculpture of a large, blue, mythical creature inspired by the marsupial megafauna that roamed the region thousands of years ago.

It was designed by Huna Studios, who created the creature to emulate a being that “has emerged from the depths of one of Mount Gambier’s many caves or sinkholes and embarked on a journey through the city streets”.

If approved, the piece is slated to be located on Commercial Street East, outside the Riddoch Arts & Culture Centre, or near the Cave Gardens in the CBD.

Huna Studio said the artwork could be expanded into “a continuous story, a series of mythical creatures traversing the city and beyond”, telling different stories in other regional towns.

How the "bold and ambitious" piece would look on the streets of Mount Gambier. Picture: City of Mount Gambier/Huna Studios.

How the artwork would look at the Cave Gardens. Picture: City of Mount Gambier/Huna Studios.

A panel of two councillors, two council staff members and an external expert selected the Huna Studio sculpture as front-runner due to its “site-specific, immersive, bold, relevant and spectacular artwork”.

The council will now decide on Tuesday night whether to allocate $120,179 to Huna Studios to design, fabricate, transport and install their work - as well as a further $17,271 for site preparation and other costs.

A council report said it was hoped the artwork would raise the city’s profile among the arts and culture landscape and serve as a recognisable icon for the city - similar to the Malls Balls.

The report warned the artwork could be both celebrated and criticised by members of the community as well as where as tourists, but noted that such is to be expected for a “bold and significant public art project”. Rundle Mall’s the Pigeon and bronze pigs were cited in the report as similar examples of artworks that were initially questioned or shunned before becoming local icons.

The report said measures would be put in place to minimise and discourage potential vandalism.

The Huna Studio piece was one of 22 applications submitted to an expression of interest callout issued in April this year for the Beacon Art Project.

The Beacon Art Project aims to create an iconic public artwork for the city of Mount Gambier, in a high-profile location, that activates the CBD and supports community connection, placemaking and tourism opportunities. The initial budget for the project was slated at around $80,000.