The Creative Village sculpture trail is well loved by locals and visitors alike. The sculpture trail runs from the Great Ocean Road tourism centre along the foreshore reserve, through the community market space, outdoor eating areas, skateboard park and around the children’s playground. The sculptures are the outcome of various artist projects created by local artisans and Apollo Bay Arts stemming from the Creative Village project in 1995.
Each year the timber sculptures of the Apollo Bay foreshore are lovingly restored by local craftspeople. The first statue in the restoration programme of the Apollo Bay Cypress foreshore streetscape sculptures was Te Pou completed in June 2012. Since then, the twenty–two sculptures, benches, seats and mermaid bust have been restored and maintained annually by Richard Stone and Ian Begely.
Apollo Bay Arts is grateful to the Colac Otway Shire for contributing to the annual maintenance over the last decade, and now to Great Ocean Road Coast & Parks Authority (GORCAPA) for continuing to support the restoration on an annual basis to ensure the sculptures’ longevity.
Sculpture Trail History
In 1994 the Creative Village Initiative was offered to regional communities by the Victorian Arts Council (now known as Regional Arts Victoria), and with whom Apollo Bay Arts are affiliated. Apollo Bay Arts was successful in receiving Creative Village funds as well as financial support from the local Foreshore Committee of Management to develop outdoor sculptures for the foreshore community market site.
Beginning work in 1995, twelve participants sculpted poles under the guidance of John McColl. John guided artists and novices through the process of creating fourteen poles, five of which he sculpted. Creative Village Artists included John McColl, James Butt, Mark Davies, Brad West, Kim Boyd, Steve Wilkie, Michael Finn, Tanzalee Chalmers, and Michael Walters.
In 1998 a Community Tiling Project was undertaken to add ceramic art work to the foreshore reserve. This incorporated two hundred and fifty kilograms of terracotta made into several hundred square tiles, as well as larger slabs of relief work. The ceramic tiles were carved and decorated at a series of community workshops under the guidance of artist John McColl. In addition ‘green’ tiles were taken to weekly activities group at Otway Health & Community Services to enable older members of the community to carve or decorate a tile. The tiles were fired in the local schools kiln and John arranged the tiles incorporating his sperm whales and mermaid sculptures to form an interesting, practical surface preventing erosion at the base of the well used ‘Boat Seat’.
In 2007 local rock wall specialist, Evan Robertson was selected by Apollo Bay Arts and the foreshore committee to create a sculptural work. This work incorporated a drinking fountain in a rock sculpture at the children’s playground.
The urban sculptures along the foreshore reserve represent the spirit of the Apollo Bay community and our close affiliation with the sea and the arts.