In the middle of the Swan River, at the eastern gateway to the City of Perth, sits one of the little known jewels of Western Australia - Heirisson Island.
There is no major sculpture park of the scale envisaged for Heirisson Island in Australia. That is why the Heirisson Island Sculpture Park has the opportunity to become an icon tourist attraction for Western Australia and the rest of the nation. Its location alone in the centre of the river at the very heart of a major city will ensure that Heirisson Island is like no other sculpture park in the world. In Australia the enormous success of the annual Sculpture by the Sea exhibition at Bondi in Sydney, and more recently at Cottesloe on Perth's coastline, is testament to people's interest in viewing art in exciting outdoor locations. |
Overseas, outdoor sculpture parks are a well established concept attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. Among the best known are the:
In time it is hoped that Heirisson Island will become as well known on the international arts tourism trail as these other attractions. Dr Helen Singleton, Adjunct Associate Professor of the John Curtin Institute of Public Policy - Curtin University of Technology, has recently written an academic article highlighting the popularity of this concept. It explores how art and the community relate to the vision for Heirisson Island. For a downloadable version of the article click here.
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