Ballan and the Red Dot!!

Today - 22nd March 2013 - we have been in Ballan exactly one year. 

Sometimes it feels a lot longer than that, sometimes less, but all I can say is that it has been a huge year for us both, a year of settling in, a year of upheaval, lots of laughter, some sadness, being cold, friendships and everything in between!

..... and after 12 eventful months we are settled in and love it!

Way back in June 2009, a young man named Ayob bin Ismail also arrived here from Singapore, but as Wombat Regional Arts Network's International Artist/Designer-in-Residence.

Each artist/designer-in-residence was asked to make an artistic or design contribution to the Shire and Ayob’s gift was a piece of windart for Ballan. 

Ayob's windart weathervane is called The Red Dot.

The term "little red dot" is used by both Singaporean politicians and ordinary citizens with pride and with a sense of the nation's success despite its physical limitations. Most people refer to Singapore as the "little red dot" with affection, there is even a Red Dot Award for best Product Design etc. So the term is widely used in and around Singapore.

When we decided to leave Singapore to return to Australia, the big decision was "where to live" and after much thought and discussion we settled on Ballan ..... its a big move from The Red Dot to Ballan. There was a lot of thought about where to go, what to do, where to live and our heads were up in the air over many things. A bit like a weathervane!

It was not until a few weeks after moving here that we came across Ayob's Red Dot and it felt like there really was a link between Ballan and Singapore!

The Red Dot - as seen above - has 7 red plates with differing diameters. Each plate represents an element contributing to the arts and design landscape synergy in Ballan.

The elements represented include the town's:

• community
• landscape
• historic values
• cultural values
• arts practices
• vibrancy and energy
• tourism.

the above image is not mine, but is a copy of the front page of the Moorabool News in which Ayob and his Red Dot take pride of place!

Ayob's visit was generously supported by Nanyang Polytechnic (School of Design), Wombat Regional Arts Network and by Velislav Georgiev and Tor Roxburgh's public art business Zabelski Han and their gallery studio complex Omnibus Art Gallery.


Tor Roxburgh has written an extensive blog on Ayob's visit to Ballan, and can be viewed HERE.

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