The City of Melbourne and Craft Victoria are giving Melburnians a unique opportunity to own a little piece of our city’s heart through their Love Locks lottery which is now open.
Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said the City of Melbourne was left with the conundrum of what to do with 20,000 padlocks, or Love Locks, when we removed them from the Evan Walker Bridge last year due to safety concerns.
“We didn’t want to just throw away these expressions of love and affection, as other cities have. I knew that we could come up with a solution that was uniquely Melbourne and that’s what the Love Locks Project is,” the Lord Mayor said. “The City of Melbourne engaged Craft Victoria to commission six artists to create artworks and mementos from the remaining material which will be displayed in an exhibition and can be snapped up as part of an open lottery which begins today.”
“The Love Lock phenomenon has spread through many cities around the world and we have had a lot of interest in this process as a result. Paris removed padlocks from the famous Pont des Arts shortly after we removed ours so I’ll now be in touch with Mayor Anne Hidalgo to show her Melbourne’s unique solution.”
The works, along with a short film by Arie Rain Glorie titled Forever, You are Mine will be displayed at the Love Locks Exhibition at Melbourne Town Hall 8 – 20 August 2016. Lottery tickets will be available for $10 each at the exhibition, as well as 100 limited edition heart-shaped mementos which will be gift-boxed with a catalogue at a cost of $100 each. All proceeds from the Love Locks Project will go to the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation.
Craft Victoria CEO Jane Scott said the organisation was delighted to be part of the Love Locks Project which has resulted in new works of art by some of Victoria’s most inventive and talented makers: Dr Anton Hasell, Katheryn Leopoldseder, Elise Sheehan, Kirsty Macafee, Dr Louiseann King and Kristian King.
“This transformative project leads the way in creative up-cycling solutions and will set a precedent for artistic resolutions in managing these beloved Love Locks,” said Ms Scott. “By allowing the public to take home part of the Love Lock legacy, this project goes way beyond the parameters of just an event.”
Love Locks Exhibition
Melbourne Town Hall, Corner Little Collins and Swanston Streets, Melbourne
Exhibition: 8 – 20 August 2016
Free entry
For more information, visit: www.melbourne.vic.gov.au or www.craft.org.au for details.
Image: Some of the locks removed from the Southbank Footbridge – photo by Christopher Sanders