Art flows for Pyrmont Festival of Wine, Food and Art

Art flows for Pyrmont Festival of Wine, Food and Art
Image: Glebe Public School students proudly display their science-inspired artworks for Pyrmont Festival

This year marks the fourth annual Pyrmont Festival of Wine, Food and Art and is set to offer the best of the country in the city.

For 10 days from May 16-25, more than 150 Mudgee wines and fine foods will be up for sampling in Pirrama Park and surrounding establishments, with the festival aiming to enhance the inner city suburb’s position as one of Sydney’s fastest growing tourist, creative, cultural and dining precincts.

Local resident Carol Bellenger told City News that she has been a resident of Pyrmont for close to a decade now and that in that time, she has attended almost every community event in the Pyrmont/Ultimo area.

I found the festival a great way to meet the locals, especially of the furry kind,” Ms Bellenger said.

Pyrmont Festival has always been an event for people of all ages. As part of the festival’s cultural display, the artwork of local primary school students will be showcased at Culture at Work’s Art Science City of Sydney Schools project. The project is a creative art science education program developed by Culture at Work, an artist-led research institute and creative hub with a mission to inspire future generations of creative thinkers by connecting artists and scientists with young people. The project involves an exhibition inviting students from five primary schools in the CIty of Sydney LGA to paint science-inspired artworks.

“The project focus is on increasing educational opportunities for children linked to creative art science outcomes informed by a science theme,” Sherryl Ryan, founder and CEO of Culture at Work, told City News. 

Over the last three years of the project, 600 small canvases painted by local students will have been exhibited in Pirrama Park, as part of the Pyrmont Festival, where up to 15,000 visitors can celebrate the creativity of inner city youth.

This year, 180 students from Glebe, Ultimo, Darlington, Forest Lodge and St James Public Schools have been invited to participate in the project. Teachers in participating schools are responsible for working on the theme and developing ideas to allow students to express their stories on to the canvas.

This year’s theme is ‘WATER’, which is appropriate considering Pyrmont’s proximity to Sydney Harbour, with previous years exploring Global Villages and Sustainable Cities (2012) and the Most Precious Things on the Planet (2013).

As part of this year’s theme, Culture at Work have partnered with the Plant Functional Biology and Climate Change Cluster centre at UTS to highlight the work of one of its environmental scientists, marine researcher Kirralee Baker, whose work on diatoms has provided the inspiration for students’ canvases.

“I grew up near the ocean and spent many a day playing in rock pools, establishing a connection with water,” Ms Baker told City News.

“It was only fitting I became a marine scientist and I am excited to share my connection with these kids.”

Ms Baker beams with pride after working with the inner city students of Glebe Public School who may not have had the same opportunity to establish a connection with nature as she has done.

Hilary Seymour, visual arts teacher at Glebe Primary School, explains that the children were “just fascinated” with the concept of water under a microscope.

“They loved exploring the patterns and colours that cannot be seen with the naked eye,” Ms Seymour said.

The artworks will be finalised this week and ready for the exhibition in Pirrama Park as part of the Pyrmont Festival of Wine, Food and Art between 11am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday, May 17-18.

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