'A mesmerising forest of lights': First artwork for Kingston Arts Precinct revealed

The artwork, The Journey, by renowned local artist Robert Forster, was gifted to the government by ActewAGL.

Robert Foster tragically died in a car accident on the Kings Highway in 2016.

Best known for the iconic F!NK water jug, his works are held in major public collections including the National Gallery of Australia, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Spanning over approximately 300 square metres, the award-winning artwork contains 37 individual plexiglass cones, known as "Ossolites", which were programmed to glow different colours according to the time of day.

They also interact with viewers' movement, using motion sensors.

The Journey is already well-known to many Canberrans.

It was displayed in the foyer of ActewAGL's Bunda Street premises for more than 10 years. The work was commissioned by ActewAGL in 2010 to mark its 10th anniversary.

The company offered the work to the ACT government after the Bunda Street building was sold and the work was put into storage.

In a sense, it is a closing of the circle, with ActewAGL's history traced back to the Kingston powerhouse, now the Canberra Glassworks, and part of the proposed new arts precinct.

The Journey will now be refurbished and incorporated into the design of the new Kingston Arts Precinct with the help of F!NK + Co and the KAP design team. A display date will become clearer during the refurbishment process.

Although The Journey is being gifted to the ACT government, a voluntary royalty will be paid to the artist's estate to acknowledge the change in ownership and the artists' continuing interest in the work.

Under the Artist's Resale Royalty Scheme, artists and their estates are entitled to a 5 per cent royalty whenever an eligible artwork resells in Australia.

Gretel Harrison of F!NK + Co was glad the work would soon be back on public display.

"I am super appreciative of artsACT for finding a new home for Robert's sculpture The Journey so that once again people will be able to walk through his mesmerising forest of lights," she said.

The Kingston Arts Precinct is bounded by Eastlake Parade and Wentworth Avenue and the eastern edge of Telopea Park.

It will be home to the Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Canberra Glassworks, Craft ACT, M16 Artspace, Megalo Print Studio, PhotoAccess and a new space for Canberra's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

A government spokesperson said the project last month received "approval to commence the Estate Subdivision development application phase", which was progressing.

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"Further engagement is being developed specifically in response to the Arts Organisations spatial placement, Ngunnawal engagement and Designing with Country," the spokesperson said.

"And on July 1, 2024, a new Reference Group responsible for the initial establishment and governance of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Space at the Kingston Arts Precinct commenced."