Tamworth industrial park: $50,000 sculpture design revealed ahead of Tamworth Regional Council meeting

Tamworth Regional Council (TRC) will vote on whether to engage Everlon and Co artists to finalise the design, fabricate and install the sculpture in the middle of a new roundabout being built at the intersection of the Oxley Highway and Country Road.

The roundabout is a critical piece of the city's defining document, Blueprint 100, to allow access to Tamworth's Global Gateway Park project.

Not only will it provide access to the business park, but also to the city's airport and the future south Tamworth western bypass, TRC senior project management engineer Mark Gardiner wrote in his report to the council.

"As such, the roundabout was recognised as needing to create a statement which presents a progressive message about Tamworth's identity and its future," he said.

"The new roundabout was therefore identified as an ideal location to incorporate a significant landscaping statement."

An expression of interest was put out through the council and a number of local artists were contacted directly and encouraged to apply.

The concept was to create a welcoming statement at the western entrance to the city that "provides a sense of grandeur" and represents Tamworth as "a prominent regional city".

The budget for the project is $50,000 and the EOI received eight submissions.

A working group made up of local councillors and independent artists chose Everlon and Co's concept, 'Taking Flight' because of its links with aviation, Tamworth's landscape and innovation.

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If councillors give the sculpture the nod, the council will work with the artist to make sure the final piece is compatible with the roundabout and meets technical requirements.

It's expected to be installed by December 2021, and because recent contracts awarded for the industrial park have resulted in surplus funds - some of that will be used to pay for the sculpture.

The final cost of the artwork won't be known until the detailed design has been completed.

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