Today we’re going to do one of my favourite things, correcting misinformation. *adjusts nerdy glasses*
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We ran a story recently on our website regarding three new sculptures that Mid-Western Regional Council has placed at Lawson Park, adding to the ‘Sculpture Walk’ that spans the width of the park.
Many of you reading this would know that I shared it to the Mudgee Area Community Group Facebook page, and most – though not all – of the comments all took on a similar tone, ‘why did Council waste money on this?’
This sentiment, along with ‘this money should be going to roads/education/farmers/*anything else* was the dominating subject among commenters.
Except there is an important misunderstanding happening here.
I contacted Council and got this response:
In 2017/18, Council had a $7,500 budget to spend on a joint prize with Sculptures in the Garden (SIG also contributing $7,500).
For 2018/19, the MWRC contribution (again to be matched by SIG) is $12,500 for the joint MWRC/SIG prize. The overall budget for sculptures across the region is $25,000 (which includes the above mentioned SIG contribution, plus transportation, installation, landscaping, etc, for all new works).
Other works received by Council are generally gifted to the community in line with the provisions of Council’s Art Collection Policy (available online).
That’s right, no money is being taken away from fixing the potholes in your street, Council simply matches the amount that Sculptures in the Garden contributes for one artwork, not to mention that Sculptures in the Garden is a not-for-profit event.
I mean, separate to this anyway, let’s remember why supporting creativity is important.
The most obvious benefits are that the sculpture walk is becoming a well-known tourist attraction, not to mention it makes walking or biking the path a very nice experience.
The local wineries too are beneficiaries, proving very popular with the visitors, the same visitors that will likely be back to spend even more money in the region.
Outside of Sculpture by the Sea, this is the best way to display and highlight the discipline of sculpture work and we should consider ourselves lucky that we have such an event and that it brings a large audience.