Grafton Bridge Precinct

Artworks celebrating the endangered Coastal Emu will be projected onto the Sunshine Sugar building in South Grafton from 22 October 2022 to 6 November 2022. More information about the Coastal Emu can be found via the links at the bottom of this page.

Gumbaynggirr, Yaegl and Bundjalung artists help celebrate the public art in the Grafton Bridge precinct as part of the Building Bridges project.

Drivers take care. Please pay attention to the road and drive safely. To view this projection from the shared path on the southern bank of the new Grafton bridge on the Summerland Way. Access by parking at the western end of Through Street, South Grafton and walk towards the bridge. This path is wheelchair accessible.

Artist Information:

Deborah Taylor is a Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung artist from South Grafton. As an artist, Deborah is heavily influenced by her Aboriginal heritage, local legends, stories and family history. Deborah’s work is in the Grafton Regional Gallery collection and she is a member of the Boomalli Artist Co-operative.

Gareth Charlton is a proud Yaegl artist that lives in Maclean. Gareth also supports the efforts to save the endangered coastal emus and produced these artworks to educate people about the plight of the emu.

Kahlua Charlton is a proud Yaegl woman. Her culture has a big influence on what and how she paints. She likes to share her cultures history, share stories, and educate people through her paintings.

Maisie Monaghan is a young Bundjalung girl from Grafton, she has been awarded the Youth Prize in the Clarence Valley Indigenous Art Award 2021 and has created two artworks for this project.

Aneika Kapeen is a Yaegl woman from Maclean. Aneika founded the Mudyala Aboriginal Corporation in Maclean and is proudly celebrating the coastal Emu with an inaugural festival to be held in Woolweyah on 29 November.

Coastal emus are listed as endangered with less than 50 known to remain on the east coast. Local landholders, together with the Clarence Valley Council, the Office of Environment and Heritage and the Coastal Emu Alliance are working to protect these birds and their habitat.

If you spot an emu, please register your sighting on the map here: https://www.clarenceconversations.com.au/coastalemus

Threats to emu survival includes

· Vehicle strike
· Barriers to movement such as fencing
· Habitat loss and loss of food plants
· Feral pests, such as pigs
· Degradation of coastal ecosystems by weeds and wildfire.

Find out more about the Coastal emu here:
https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/animals-and-plants/native-animals/native-animal-facts/emu

You can see the story of the emu and the platypus originally told by Uncle Lambert Whaddy here: https://vimeo.com/456793367

Clarence Valley artist Al Stark has painting an artwork in the Grafton library carpark wall as part of the Building Bridges Project.

Burugar Wagun (Beach turkeys)

Artist Statement:

The ideas for this work originally came form a walk through coastline country with Yaegl and Bundjalung man, Micheal Laurie. We listened to dreamtime stories of origin as well as deep knowledge of plants, animals and place. I’d always been intrigued by bush turkeys thinking of them as a kind of odd solitary bird, however as Micheal drew one in the sand, describing its meaning and importance I was taken to another place, a place of awe, wonder and deep time. Having lived in this area my entire life and considering it my home, making connection with Michael, traditional custodian and Yaegl man was transformative and really important to me. I usually go to the beach everyday regardless of weather, for a swim, surf or just to wander around. When I see the turkeys (wagun) scratching around doing interesting things I think about the significance of deep time and imagine the eons of rolling waves forming the coast and the wagun scratching around its shoreline (burugar)… I also think of its people walking through country laughing, living gracefully within nature, deeply connected since forever. It was with these thoughts that I have tried to express a dream of wagun and Burugar. It is my hope and aim that this work is able to offer a sense of beauty, wonder, rhythm and transcendence.. even if it’s just for a fleeting moment in peoples daily lives.

Al stark 2022

Stark was chosen as the preferred artist for this mural due to his site-specific work in NSW and Victoria, specifically his recent work at Pentridge community space in Melbourne. Stark has been central figure in the progression of the Melbourne street art movement since its inception in the late 90s. His more recent public works form lyrical narratives in massive colour and symbolism which seek to engage our environmental concerns and our responsibilities to them. Currently maintaining an itinerant exhibition and commission-based practice, Stark has an extensive list of collectors and clients including Hotel Hotel, Sheraton hotel, Westfield, and the National Gallery of Australia. Next time you are in Grafton make sure you check it out.

Instagram: @alstarkruins

The Grafton Regional Gallery is pleased to have invited Nationally recognised artists Blak Douglas and Jason Wing to create a mural on the Greaves St underpass of the new Grafton Bridge The Grafton Regional Gallery along with Clarence Valley Council and Transport for NSW are working to protect and encourage public art, while considering the significant built heritage of the area and safety of the community.