Benalla Ceramic Mural: a Short History

Benalla, Vic.: Friends of the Benalla Art Gallery Inc., 2013. Soft cover. Near Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Benalla is a rural city of just over 9,000 people located just off the Hume Freeway in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, about 40 kilometres southwest of Wangaratta. Its Local Government Area is the Rural City of Benalla. The site was originally taken up as a pastoral run by the Reverend Joseph Docker in 1838 and called Benalta Run, from the Aboriginal word for Musk Duck. A town was laid out on the site in 1846.The ceramic mural is a very special place alongside Lake Benalla, draws on elements of nature and has been called "the largest community artwork in Australia". The structure includes an amphitheatre, viewing platform and two sets of sound pipes ("thongaphones") for performances. The mural project started as a community arts project in 1983 under the auspices of Forum (now The Centre). Funding from the Australia Council Community Arts Board saw the appointment of Judy Lorraine as Artist-in-Residence. Further funding from the Commonwealth Government in 1985 enabled a workshop to be set up at the Benalla Aerodrome.Opportunities for all skill levels encouraged the community to participate in creating the ceramic forms. Local primary school children helped design the clay pavers which surround the circular entrance seat. In 1988, a grant from the Australian Bicentennial Authority enabled the appointment of noted Australian ceramic artists to complete the "cave seats" in the colonnade." (This post is part of the Monday Murals meme.) "This extensively illustrated book traces the twenty-seven year history of the mural, created by some of Australia's leading ceramic artists and many of the people of Benalla. The book documents the major stages and processes of the project by combining historical photographs of artists at work with stunning images by renowned local photographer Stephan Miechel. With an introduction by local artist Ivan Durrant, it provides for the first time a short history of this monumental undertaking. "Muriel.... A sign and a wonder, she announces the presence of dreamers and artisans and stands for civic values other than progress and profit, a magnificent folly, a handmade, organic, curly, vulnerable, sacred cubby, a cathedral for ducks and platypi and a reproach to the limits of rationalism." Tim Robertson 2010" (publicity blurb). There is a gift inscription on the title page, signed only David it is in fact from David Moore. .