Clarence Valley Council has taken the silver award in the Australian Street Art Awards in the Best Monument or Memorial category for its spectacular 2022 Flood Memorial Murals project.
The project was one of 34 public art experiences recognised as the best in the country at the Australian Street Art Awards.
Commissioned by Clarence Valley Council and funded through the Northern Rivers Joint Organisation, the murals project recognises the resilience of community and the deep and meaningful connections formed during the flood events of 2021.
For the project, Clarence Valley artists were commissioned to create a series of public artworks around the region. Artist Nitsua’s mural on the water tower in Lawrence, designed in consultation with students at Lawrence Public School, depicts a child gazing up at the moon, with a Rainbow Lorikeet soaring through the valley symbolising the everlasting flow of the mighty Clarence River.
Artworks by Al Stark painted on the pylons under the Harwood Bridge depict four female river sentinels and embody the stories and dreaming of river and sea. These works commemorate the floods which affected Yamba and surrounding villages and stand as reminders of the power of the Clarence catchment.
Artwork installed on planter boxes in Prince Street, Grafton, represents the work of twenty artists who were invited to tell their flood stories. Subject matter includes the inundation of the Aerodrome, raging floodwaters in the upper reaches of the river, and a comedic retelling of the tropes associated with community conversations around flood times.
