Discover something creative and new in Frankston City
It’s time to spring into your creative curiosity in Frankston City.
Hello Spring. It’s nice to welcome you back my friend. More sunshine and longer days are the perfect reason to get outside and discover something new.
And now is the ideal time to explore our creative city.
Our murals, music, sculpture, art, festivals, events, creators and makers – they all feed into a celebrated part of our city’s identity. They reflect our creative, colourful and bold personality.
Keen to see what we mean?
Let us show you...
Murals by twilight
You may ask if Australia’s best street art tour could get any better, and we would have to say yes.
How does a Friday night tour at twilight sound?
Running from 6.30 – 8pm, grab a cheeky drink before the tour starts or if you’re bringing the kids along, the tours are perfectly timed for an early dinner.
On the tour you will be guided through the city’s streets and laneways to discover the city constantly evolving street art scene. With life sized murals, augmented reality pieces and splashes of colour and imagination, Frankston’s street art really comes to life. There’s more than 50 iconic artworks on show, each with an enchanting backstory for the piece or artist. You’ll soon understand why Frankston won Australia’s best street art walking tour.
From October, twilight walking tours are back, every Friday. It’s the perfect chance to do this tour a little differently than norm and start your evening in Frankston City. You can even book a 'Baos and Beers' experience with The Hop Shop or an 'Art and Sweet Treat' experience with The Cupcake Queens.
After the tour, hit up the city’s bustling entertainment and hospitality precincts, along Playne and Wells Streets. You’ll find overflowing breweries, burger bars and cocktail destinations as well as brightly lit bowling, mini golf, laser tag and karaoke and rooftop bars, beckoning you to gather your mates and make a night of it in Frankston.
It's time to welcome five iconic sculptures from Sculpture by the Sea
By now you likely know that Frankston is home to over 30 powerful, meaningful and playful sculptures and historic markers dotted in nature. From still-works which encourage contemplation to 3D sculptures that call for playful exploration, artists from Australia and across the globe have given Frankston a collection of bold, vibrant and inspirational artworks which all contribute to a cumulative experience that connects Frankston to the world.
Through a valuable and ongoing partnership with Sculpture by the Sea, Frankston City has five incredible new sculptures recently installed throughout the City. Perhaps you have seen them?
Marsh Boat by Ayad Alqaragholli (born and raised in Ur, South Iraq) can be viewed from the intersection of Cranbourne and Baxter Roads. This beautiful sculpture is an expression of love for humanity, peace, beauty and freedom. Inspired by the connection between Mesopotamia and Australia, the artwork depicts two people swimming and diving in the blue sky, while the boat is full of immigrants.
You can see that Alqaragholli is influenced by ancient figures, symbols of humanity that he saw drawn and carved on cave walls and obelisks of his homeland.
Before migrating to Australia in 2005, he had established his career as an artist in the Middle East. He has continued to travel nationally and internationally to exhibit his pieces.
This stunning piece is one you must go to see.
This next piece is fun, but also powerful.
Figurative Abstraction by Norton Flavel is located at the Pines Forest Aquatic Centre, Forest Drive, Frankston North.
Central to this artwork is the belief that there are two major categories of art – figurative (realistic representations of physical objects) and abstract (with no definite link to an object outside the artwork), and these two categories are almost always kept separate.
Figurative Abstraction combines two prominent components of each category, the human form (figurative) and geometric forms (abstraction) to demonstrate that the abstract is intimately dependant on the figurative and vice versa, and they do not exist separately.
Flavel has exhibited work both nationally and internationally, as well as five times in Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi in Sydney, NSW and Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe in Perth, Western Australia. You can also see his artwork in the Snowy Valley Sculpture Trail in NSW.
Ever wondered what happens to steel when you heat it up just enough to bend and twist? Artist Tetsuro Yamasaki from Japan did and he found out.
Metamorphosis – Two Spirals is located at the Frankston Library Forecourt, Playne Street, Frankston.
It is a celebration of the magic of the material the artist uses, steel!
Yamasaki explains, ‘Ordinary steel rusts and crumbles, but this sculpture uses a special type of steel which contains a large amount of copper and chromium, making it weather resistant for decades to come.’
By carefully heating the steel, Yamasaki was able to bend and twist the steel to create two identical pieces, which he then arranged to face each other to create a space which resonates.
Having studied sculpture at Tokyo’s Zokei University, Yamasaki has been creating sculptured works for many years, is teaching the next generation of artists in Tokyo and has won multiple sculpture competitions being represented in major collections across Japan, and exhibiting in Australia at Sculpture by the Sea since 2014.
Take a look next time you are at the intersection of the Seaford and Brunel Roads and you will see an embrace….
According to the artist, R.M. (Ron) Gomboc, this piece, titled ‘As One’ ‘symbolises the embrace of two, (as in two uprights) and more so today than ever, the importance of balance and harmony in togetherness.’
Whether it is a couple, man and woman, two women, two men; or a mother and daughter or father and son embracing, Gomboc believes the beauty of togetherness is everywhere, just not everyone can see it.
Looking more closely at the sculpture’s elements, the oval base represents the beginning of life as an egg and the three levels are the stages of our existence. The void at the bottom depicts the spiritual side of humanity while the top ‘U’ shape represents a horseshoe – for luck!
Gomboc stresses that while this is his interpretation, he encourages each viewer to apply their own interpretation to this piece.
Not surprisingly, as an award-winning sculptor from Western Australia, Gomboc has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Australia, Europe and Asia and has exhibited in Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi in Sydney, NSW and Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe in Perth, Western Australia.
How lucky are we to have his work in Frankston too!
Last, but certainly not least of the City’s newest sculptures is Vertical Wave by Hikaru Yumura (Japan).
Located at the entrance of Peninsula Aquatic Recreation Centre, 16N Cranbourne Rd, Frankston, Vertical Wave is a natural rock which has been broken in two revealing both broken and processed surfaces. Based on the shape of a wave, Yumura says, ‘The surface of the swell reminds me of a heartbeat.’
Yumura’s work is borne from his closeness and connection with nature and natural stone and the notion of organic and inorganic, nature and art.
A hymn to life, we couldn’t think of a better place that outside PARC for this stunning piece.
Sculpture by the Sea is a free public exhibition of the world’s most impressive sculptors presented in Bondi, NSW and in Cottesloe, WA. The addition of some key pieces from the exhibition into the City’s existing vibrant art collection complement Frankston’s creative urban edge and coastal lifestyle and, like the exhibition experience at Bondi and Cottesloe benefits the local community and those visiting the City by providing unique cultural experiences.
For further information about Sculpture by the Sea head to https://sculpturebythesea.com/
Frankston’s new sculpture doesn’t stop at Sculptures by the Sea. We told you there’s something around every corner and when you turn the corner on Nepean Highway in Seaford you will be greeted with possibly the City’s most mesmerising and profound sculpture yet.
Nothing says 'you’ve arrived' quite like a welcome beacon… and now Frankston has one. The epic sculpture, Beacon by Matt Calvert sits at the Eel Race Road underpass in Seaford as you enter the city on Nepean Highway.
By day this crystal-like glass tower celebrates the maritime history of Port Phillip Bay; and then at night time it rings true to its name, as it lights up in a mesmerising display of colour.
Made from rescued glass Matt created this iconic place marker on our coastal landscape as part of his recurring theme of roadside tributes and memorials, referring to the loss of his father in a car accident when he (Matt) was just seven years old.
Sculpture lovers may have seen other sculptures of Matt's at locations including McClelland Sculpture Park + Gallery, Point Leo Estate, Bondi Beach and Werribee.
Speaking of McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park, we can’t tell Frankston’s creative story without a stop at possible the City’s most iconic art destinations.
There’s a whole world of sculptures to discover here. Free to wander the gardens for Frankston City residents and free for anyone who dines at the café here’s over 100 acres of native bushland, lakes and walking paths to explore. The shapes, sizes and styles of the sculptures embedded in nature will have you insta snapping for sure. Feeling peckish? For the spring season, their café serves breakfast Wednesday – Sunday and kids eat FREE with every paying adult. You can also enjoy live Music at McClelland, coming in the summer months.
The vibrancy of the city’s creative experiences doesn’t darken with the setting sun; in fact it grows brighter.
Head to Cube 37 at nightfall to see theArt After Dark Program light up the Glass Cube Gallery. See projected images and soundscapes come alive every evening until midnight. Fronting onto Davey Street, the gallery often showcases digital artwork, art installations and pop up projects. It’s definitely worth the wander past if you’re heading out for the night.
A year-round celebration of people and place
Frankston’s creativity doesn’t stop with traditional art and cultural experiences.
Events overflowing with music, food, drinks, colour and movement are a specialty for this coastal city and as the weather warms up, the city is gearing up for a bumper season of major events.
The year ahead promises to be one to remember in Frankston as the city’s favourite events relaunch and a wave of new events make their way to our shores.
From a new year’s eve music festival in December and waterside mini-golf in January, to country music in March, and sunset twilight markets throughout daylight saving, you’d think your social calendar would be full enough; but no – don’t forget The Waterfront Festival in February, Big Picture Fest and Block Party in March and then top it off with the second year of South Side Festival as the weather changes in May.
Kicking off in October the sunshine bring the celebration to Frankston and you will be hard pressed for find a month when you won’t have a reason to make your way here.
You may know Frankston as a waterfront destination. Or perhaps as a place for urban adventure or even a natural wonderland, but now you know that there is an evolving creative undertone to the landscape which will draw you in, inspire you and keep you wanting more.
When will you start your creative discovery in Frankston City?
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