In 2007 the Gasworks Foundation Patrons' Fund sought expressions of interest from artists living within Victoria to create an artwork which imaginatively responds to and creates a dialogue with the environment of Gasworks Arts Park. The panel desired that the submissions should aim for a high profile critical engagement with current public art practice, and combine aesthetic appeal with the rediscovery and enjoyment of public space.

Sculptor, furniture designer and master craftsman Matthew Harding won this $20,000 commission from the Gasworks Foundation to create a significant new public sculpture at Gasworks Arts Park. He has used the commission to create a set of seven bluestone industrial shapes to be installed among the trees near the Gasworks administration block in July 2008.

Called Midden, the pieces reflect the cultural, ecological and industrial qualities of the Albert Park arts precinct. He hopes that the pieces will be used, sometimes as places to sit, other times as dramatic settings by performers, and for any other purpose they inspire.

About the Gasworks Foundation Patrons Fund

The Gasworks Foundation Patrons’ Fund supports significant projects at Gasworks Arts Park to ensure its future as a community arts space. The Foundation aims to contribute to the precinct by funding major works that will have a lasting impact on the Gasworks site and the people of all ages, abilities and interests it serves.Gasworks Foundation currently has twenty-six patrons, each of whom has made a significant donation to the fund.

For more information about becoming a Gasworks Foundation Patron, click here, or contact Jane Chisholm on t: 8606 4204 or e: jane@gasworks.org.au.

For information about the existing park sculptures, click here.

Contact

Jane Chisholm , Executive Officer, Gasworks Foundation

t: 03 8606 4204

e: jane@gasworks.org.au