Public slams political art

A POLITICAL display on City Hall forming part of a publicly funded exhibition has been slammed by the ratepayer watchdog.

A projection that compared the controversial Adani coal mine project with the size of Geelong was flashed up on to City Hall during the Geelong After Dark event.

The mega coal mine — proposed for central Queensland by Indian mining giant Adani — has been a contentious issue at a federal level, although it has no direct link to the Geelong municipality.

Ratepayers Geelong president Andrew Senia said the Adani display was another case of local government meddling with state and federal issues.

“The message from ratepayers to City Hall is ‘keep out of politics, that isn’t your concern’,” he said. “We’re not for or against the message, that’s inconsequential. I’m also a ratepayer in the Surf Coast Shire and that council has wasted many months on the rainbow flag issue.

“There was never a vote on whether (the Adani issue) was the viewpoint of the council. It must be remembered that it’s ratepayers’ money that’s been spent on Geelong After Dark and many would see it as a waste for that money to spent without due consultation.”

However, Geelong Mayor Bruce Harwood defended the illumination, although declined to say whether he supported or opposed the message.

“Geelong After Dark is a great showcase of artistic expression. Art does challenge us. It can be thoughtprovoking, it can be controversial and it can create discussion,” he said.

“Art can sometimes be challenging because it is a reflection of our environment and the world around us. “

City of Greater Geelong arts and culture manager Kaz Paton had defended the artwork, saying the event was meant to be “edgy” and comparable to political art by Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso’s Guernica. Cr Sarah Mansfield echoed the

mayor’s view.

“I support the council giving a platform to artistic expression. It is important for art to reflect the world around us and challenge us,” she said.

Deputy mayor Peter Murrihy, and councillors Kylie Grzybek and Jim Mason declined to comment.

Councillors Anthony Aitken, Stephanie Asher, Eddy Kontelj, Pat Murnane, Ron Nelson and Trent Sullivan did not respond to inquiries made yesterday via phone and email.

Geelong After Dark receives significant funding from both Geelong council and the State Government.

Numbers were down this year at the event, which was scheduled at the same time as a Cats home game.