Agnes Water & Town of 1770 Pole Art Trail
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The story of a series of individually PAINTED POWER POLES
The Agnes Water Cultural Art Trail Group came together early in 2019 after local Tracey Lee put it out to the community that she personally got so much enjoyment from seeing accessible art installations on her bicycle tours around Australia.
The community overwhelmingly agreed that accessible art was something they enjoyed. A meeting was quickly held at a café. Within an hour unanimous and harmonious decisions had been made. They had a group name, set a theme, and were ready to roll. 20 poles for 2020, flora and fauna indigenous to the area. Tracey contacted Energy Queensland, and spoke to “Steve” who straight away was happy to help her navigate the paperwork and red tape.
All was going well, everything looked promising, but in 2020 the world changed, Covid-19 put a sharp and dramatic holt to the artistic endeavour.
Quietly, in the background, Steve and Tracey kept the flame alive, then, once travel and contact restrictions were lifted, a safety supervisor from Energy Queensland was able to come and inspect the poles and help choose suitable and safe poles.
The group held a sausage sizzle, a few generous businesses and locals jumped in and provided financial support or a donation of paint, brushes, and jars to store and mix paint. Bunnings in Bundaberg helped with two separate donations of materials. This was a massive community effort to help get the local emerging and established artists out at a pole.
Each artist filled out an Expressions of Interest Application. Once they had done that we helped with pole selection. Their poles were cleaned and undercoated, and they were given a box of paint, and were set loose to beautify the poles. Tooting an artist as they painted became a real thing. The community were right there behind each artist as they spent hours in extreme weather, brightening the once graffitied and boring poles.
Some locals claimed artists as their own, feeding them, bringing cold drinks or warm coffee. To watch the locals and tourists stop, take a moment, and smile has brought joy to all the artists involved. They completed a massive 27 poles with 26 artists.
But… THE COMMUNITY HAD A HUNGER FOR MORE PAINTED POLES so 31 more followed
The poles had been so accepted, that new friendships had been forged. 2020 had been a very difficult year for many; Covid-19 had affected everyone, and the poles had really helped bring some joy and happiness into a very grey time. Pole art had increased self-esteem, improved self-expression, but not just for the artists, they were an avenue to conversations that were safe. Conversations around the shared joy of the poles, helped with some of the depression and anxiety brought on by restrictions. They had bought a community together.
The team quickly set about getting all the appropriate approvals in place and put the word out that,once again, they are looking for artists to volunteer their time and skill to contribute to a 100% community-funded and supported project.
During this time the 2020 pole art project was nominated for a Cultural Arts Award. Gladstone Regional Council hosts its annual awards day, to recognise and reward members of the local community. The organisers were honoured and grateful to be acknowledged.
Poles were selected, fundraising went into full swing, artists sent in their expressions of interest hoping to secure a pole, and residents keen for more poles sent many requests for poles in their streets to be done.
While they thought they had learnt so much in stage one, stage two really tested the mental strength of all. The presence of La Niña increased the amount of rain artists had to contend with. Artists all coped with this in individually unique ways. Umbrellas were on standby, plastic bags hastily covered recently painted poles. The often-unexpected deluges took their toll, while some artists were fortunate not to see their work slide down the pole, others stood by helplessly, and if it wasn’t raining, artists were dealing with oppressive humidity, making for hot sticky and dangerous conditions, the resilience of all was tested. 31 artists and hundreds of community members helped to create 31 epic poles in stage two to add to the power pole art trail.
And while requests for stage three are flooding in, the group are taking a well-deserved break.
A quote many of the artists connected with was,
“When things do not go your way, remember that every challenge — every adversity — contains within it the seeds of opportunity and growth.”
Please enjoy the poles, they were created for you, by us, with love from the heart.
EXPLORE ALL 51 POLES
BELOW IS AN INTERACTIVE MAP YOU CAN USE TO ENJOY
The best way to explore these pieces of art is by walking or cycling. There are some amazing details to be discovered when you walk around the pole and see them in their entirety. The map can be opened on your mobile phone in the GOOGLE MAPS app and you can also SAVE and SHARE the map with others.
