By NOEL MURPHY
ARTIST Cam Scale’s image of Willem Baa Nip – known also as King Billy, the last of the Wathaurung tribe’s Watarung Bulluk clan – looms large over Dennys Plce, just off central Geelong’s Little Malop St.
It’s one of a growing corpus of works across the city reflecting Geelong’s thriving arts community.
City Hall, in a bid to push the region’s arts, has launched new websites and a phone app for artists to promote themselves and for users to learn local secrets.
The online resources – Arts Atlas, Geelong Arts & Culture Trails and Connecting Memory – offer places to explore, share and celebrate.
Arts Atlas has jumped the starter’s blocks with more than 100 artists registered already, while the Arts & Culture Trails app reveals various public and street art, creative spaces, studios and galleries.
The third, Connecting Memory, brings together musicians, writers and filmmakers with a collection of stories exploring the significance of local places to the people who live here.
A City Hall spokesperson said cultural tourism was a growing sector for Geelong, so now was the perfect time to launch the app for people looking to experience more than a sightseeing visit.
“The app was developed for tourists and locals,” the spokesperson said.
“It has 14 trails for people to select. The trails take people on 40-minute, one, two and three-hour walks.”
“There’s also one art trail designed to see by car which takes you through the You Yangs, waterfront, Indented Head, St Leonards, Barwon Heads, Bream Creek and Lake Connewarre.”
More information is available at artsatlasgeelong.com.au and the app store.
