Love for the Garden City is on display in the heart of Toowoomba with the Arts Council's latest project. Blackboards have been installed in the CBD and shoppers are invited to stop and share thoughts about why they love their city. Blackboard maker James Bartlett says "it's awesome to see it all come to life when you see all these people interact with something you've made." (ABC Southern Qld: Peter Gunders)
The blackboards have been installed in the area the 2011 floods flowed through the CBD. "Look back three years ago," Bartlett says. "This place was under water. It's really good, especially in this space, to use it as a community building project." (ABC Southern Qld: Peter Gunders)
"I definitely know there are plenty of people who dwell on the negatives in Toowoomba, but it's good to see people come together for the positives," Bartlett says. "You see scrawling from five year olds talking about how much they love their school or friends, and then you see the cursive writing from someone with quite a bit of experience. It definitely brings people together." (ABC Southern Qld: Peter Gunders)
James Bartlett says chalk on a board is a fitting medium. "Temporary things like chalk show that despite nothing being permanent, it can be remembered." As the boards fill with comments volunteers wipe them clean, ready for more to be written. (ABC Southern Qld: Peter Gunders)
"I see it as another way that we can get together, just like we did when we came together to fix the damage after the floods," James Bartlett says. (ABC Southern Qld: Peter Gunders)
"Reading all the statements opens up your mind," Bartlett says. "When I think of this project I think of how positive the arts are in Toowoomba, and how important they are to the city." (ABC Southern Qld: Peter Gunders)
Three years after the floods that flowed through Toowoomba's CBD, the local Arts Council hopes the Blackboard Project will 'create community conversations at a time when the heart of Toowoomba is changing'.
The blackboards will hang until January 13, and locals and visitors are invited to share their love of the city in their own handwriting.
As chalk on a board is a temporary medium, a videographer has been employed to document many comments as they are written.
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