Sign of the times

JODIE DEAN

A new BRISBANE sign, with letters built and designed by locals, is fast becoming an icon.

Brisbane Sign G20 Cultural Celebrations
Olivia McLachlan, 5, plays a game of tag with her brother Connor McLachlan, 7, in front of the ‘Brisbane’ sign in South Bank; November 5, 2014. The ‘Brisbane’ sign is part of the G20 Cultural Celebrations in which each letter was decorated by a selected community group in Brisbane. Photo: Janelsa Ouma

The 25 metre wide sign at Southbank’s Cultural Forecourt is part of Brisbane’s G20 Cultural Celebrations and features eight 3-metre high letters.

Groups involved in the project include the Queensland Children’s Week Association, Brisbane Pride Festival and several men’s sheds.

They all collaborated with Project Manager and Arts Director, Adam Head.

“I designed the letter for each [men’s] shed, then we came up with the process and then we implemented that process,” Mr Head said.

“Eight different men’s sheds built each letter, and then each letter was decorated by a separate community group,” he said.

Vice President for the Queensland Children’s Week Association, Dr Cassandra Zervos, said her association’s involvement in the project was “incredibly rewarding”.

“We were invited to participate in the program, we jumped on board, we were very excited to decorate one of the letters for the Brisbane sign,” Dr Zervos said.

“We were given the letter ‘N’ to work on,” she said.

Dr Zervos said the “N” letter’s design was based on the same theme as National Children’s Week, which was taken from one of the articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child.

Brisbane Sign G20 Cultural Celebrations
The ‘N’ in the BRISBANE sign at South Bank designed by the Queensland Children’s Week Association showcasing work by children under five November 5, 2014. The Brisbane sign is a part of the G20 Cultural Celebrations taking place over the CBD. Photo: Janelsa Ouma.

“This year it was from Article 12, which is children have the right to speak and be heard,” Dr Zervos said.

The Queensland Children’s Week Association showcased their theme by working with children under five through their member organisations.

“[We] asked them to either tell us something about Brisbane or to photograph things they like about Brisbane,” Dr Zervos said.

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