A sea of votes have been counted and the NACC team is excited to announce the highly-anticipated People’s Choice Award winners for the recent Marine Debris Art Exhibition held at the Arts Cultural Development Council (ACDC) gallery in Geraldton.
Cue ‘drum roll’ …
The top voted artwork overall was “Deadly Rings in the Blue” created by none other than our very own Coastal and Marine Project Officer Vanessa McGuiness, who holds the marine environment close to her heart.
Vanessa wanted to use the collected debris to create a marine creature from because “everyone loves marine creatures”. She drew on the connection between a deadly blue ringed octopus and the deadly impact of plastics in our oceans.
Vanessa’s artwork was sold on opening night and she immediately donated the proceeds to Boomerang Bags – a wonderful initiative helping to fight the war against single use plastic shopping bags.
The top voted community participant and winner of a fantastic prize pack was Cheryl Galloway – with her incredible artwork ‘Balancing Act’.
Cheryl hopes her artwork will help raise awareness of marine debris and inspire others into action.
“If at least one person is made more aware of the delicate balancing act between marine debris and healthy oceans through my art piece, and they can influence one other person, then I feel I have accomplished something,” she said.
When asked about the inspiration behind the piece, Cheryl said she grew-up in a family of beachcombers and ocean lovers, and felt saddened by the amount of debris associated with everyday life that ends up floating around and washed-up on our beaches.
“Campaigns such as Take 3 for the Sea have really opened my eyes to the extent of the problem – a problem that effects everyone on our planet,” she said.
“Now when I walk on the beach, I go equipped with bags to collect any rubbish I come across. Where possible I recycle or repurpose the rubbish.”
A huge congratulations to everyone who participated in the workshops and art exhibition.
This project is funded by the Waste Authority through the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Account and delivered in partnership with the Northern Agricultural Catchments Council, City of Greater Geraldton, ACDC (Arts & Cultural Development Council of Geraldton), Rose Holdaway, and MEEDAC Inc.
Find out more on the NACC website.
For additional information, please contact NACC’s Sustainability Coordinator Emma Jackson emma.jackson@nacc.com.au or call 08 9938 0104.
